Good repeatability ( for the 6MWT and ESWT ) and reproducibility ( for the 6MWT , 12-minute walk test , ISWT , ESWT , and incremental cycle ergometer test ) were reported by most studies assessing these tests , providing patients were familiarized with them beforeh and .
The 6MWT , ISWT , and particularly the ESWT were reported to be sensitive to therapeutic intervention .
Exercise tests are often used to evaluate the functional status of patients with COPD .
However , to the best of our knowledge , a comprehensive systematic comparison of these tests has not been performed .
We systematic ally review ed studies reporting the repeatability and /or reproducibility of these tests , and studies comparing their sensitivity to therapeutic intervention .
Oxygen may improve dyspnea and endurance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and only mild hypoxemia.
Oxygen ( O2 ) has been reported to improve exercise tolerance in some patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) despite only mild resting hypoxemia ( PaO2 greater than 60 mm Hg ) . To confirm these prior studies and evaluate potential mechanisms of benefit , we measured dyspnea scores by numeric rating scale during cycle ergometry endurance testing and correlated the severity of dyspnea with right ventricular systolic pressure ( RVSP ) measured by Doppler echocardiography during a separate supine incremental exercise test . Both sets of exercise were performed according to a r and omized double-blind crossover protocol in which patients breathed compressed air or 40 % O2 . We studied 12 patients with severe COPD ( FEV1 0.89 + /- 0.09 L [ mean + /- SEM ] , FEV1/FVC 37 + /- 2 % , DLCO 9.8 + /- 1.5 ml/min/mm Hg[47 % of predicted ] , PaO2 71 + /- 2.6 mm Hg ) . With endurance testing on compressed air , PaO2 did not change significantly in the group as whole ( postexercise PaO2 63 + /- 5.1 mm Hg , p = NS ) , but did fall to less than 55 mm Hg in four patients from this group . Duration of exercise increased on 40 % O2 from 10.3 + /- 1.6 to 14.2 + /- 1.5 min ( p = 0.005 ) , and the rise in dyspnea scores was delayed . Oxygen delayed the rise in RVSP with incremental exercise in all patients and lowered the mean RVSP at maximum exercise from 71 + /- 8 to 64 + /- 7 mm Hg ( p less than 0.03 ) . Improvement in duration of exercise correlated with decrease in dyspnea ( r2 = 0.66 , p = 0.001 ) but not with decreases in heart rate , minute ventilation , or RVSP . ( ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
Good repeatability ( for the 6MWT and ESWT ) and reproducibility ( for the 6MWT , 12-minute walk test , ISWT , ESWT , and incremental cycle ergometer test ) were reported by most studies assessing these tests , providing patients were familiarized with them beforeh and .
The 6MWT , ISWT , and particularly the ESWT were reported to be sensitive to therapeutic intervention .
Exercise tests are often used to evaluate the functional status of patients with COPD .
However , to the best of our knowledge , a comprehensive systematic comparison of these tests has not been performed .
We systematic ally review ed studies reporting the repeatability and /or reproducibility of these tests , and studies comparing their sensitivity to therapeutic intervention .