Method ological factors affecting 6MWD include track length , encouragement , supplemental oxygen and walking aids .
Supplemental oxygen also affects ISWT and ESWT performance .
Responsiveness was moderate to high for all tests , with greater responsiveness to interventions that included exercise training .
The findings of this review demonstrate that the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT are robust tests of functional exercise capacity in adults with chronic respiratory disease
This systematic review examined the measurement properties of the 6-min walk test ( 6MWT ) , incremental shuttle walk test ( ISWT ) and endurance shuttle walk test ( ESWT ) in adults with chronic respiratory disease .
Effects of supplemental oxygen during activity in patients with advanced COPD without severe resting hypoxemia.
STUDY OBJECTIVES To assess oxygen desaturation during activities and to evaluate the short-term effects of supplemental O(2 ) use in patients with severe COPD who do not qualify for long-term O(2 ) therapy . DESIGN A double-blind , r and omized , placebo-controlled trial . SETTING Out patients from the pulmonary diseases division of a tertiary-care university hospital . PATIENTS Twenty patients with stable COPD with FEV(1)/FVC ratios of < 50 % , FEV(1 ) levels < 55 % of the predicted normal value , and PaO(2 ) levels of > 60 mm Hg when resting . INTERVENTIONS Patients were initially evaluated with  pulmonary function tests , blood gas analysis , and Doppler echocardiography  , and they underwent the following three 6-min walking tests ( WTs ) in a r and om sequence : basal WT ( BWT ) ; WT while breathing compressed air ( CAWT ) ; and WT while breathing O(2 ) ( O(2)WT ) . MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The distance walked was recorded in meters . Dyspnea was measured by Borg scale measurement before and after the tests , and arterial oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry ( SpO(2 ) ) was continuously monitored . Results were analyzed by grouping patients in the following manner : desaturators ( DSs ) ( ie , patients with a drop in SpO(2 ) of at least 5 % and < 90 % during the WT ) vs nondesaturators ( NDSs ) ; and O(2 ) responders ( ie , patients with an increase of at least 10 % in the distance walked and /or a decrease of at least 3 points in Borg index score ) vs nonresponders . During the BWT , 11 of 20 patients ( 55 % ) were defined as desaturators . During the O(2)WT , the SpO(2 ) remained at > 90 % in every patient . The distance walked increased by 22 % ( p < 0.02 ) , and dyspnea decreased 36 % ( p < 0.01 ) in DS patients . In NDS patients , O(2 ) administration reduced dyspnea by 47 % ( p < 0.001 ) , but the distance walked did not improve . Responses were markedly different from one patient to another . No significant differences were noticed between the results of the BWT and CAWT in any of the groups . Thirteen O(2 ) responders did not differ from 7 nonresponders either in basal data or in desaturation measure during the BWT , except that all walking responders ( five patients ) were above the median of basal left ventricle performance . CONCLUSIONS Most of the studied COPD patients desaturated during the BWT . O(2 ) administration avoided desaturation and could increase the distance walked and reduce dyspnea , but these effects were not related to walking desaturation in individual cases . Improvements were not a placebo effect . The therapeutic role of O(2 ) during activities in some patients with severe COPD needs to be individually assessed
Method ological factors affecting 6MWD include track length , encouragement , supplemental oxygen and walking aids .
Supplemental oxygen also affects ISWT and ESWT performance .
Responsiveness was moderate to high for all tests , with greater responsiveness to interventions that included exercise training .
The findings of this review demonstrate that the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT are robust tests of functional exercise capacity in adults with chronic respiratory disease
This systematic review examined the measurement properties of the 6-min walk test ( 6MWT ) , incremental shuttle walk test ( ISWT ) and endurance shuttle walk test ( ESWT ) in adults with chronic respiratory disease .