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 .
Course length of 30 metres versus 10 metres has a significant influence on six-minute walk distance in patients with COPD: an experimental crossover study.
QUESTIONS Do patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) achieve a different distance on the six minute walk test ( 6MWT ) conducted on a 10 m course versus on a 30 m course ? When assessing the distance on a 6MWT conducted on a 10 m course , is it valid to use existing reference equations that were generated on longer courses ? DESIGN A r and omised double-crossover experimental study . PARTICIPANTS Forty-five patients with COPD in primary physiotherapy care . INTERVENTION All patients performed a 6MWT twice over a 10 m course and twice over a 30 m course . The 6MWTs were performed in accordance with the American Thoracic Society guidelines . OUTCOME MEASURES 6MWD was assessed and predicted distance was calculated based on a range of reference equations . RESULTS The 6MWD on the 10 m course was 49.5 m shorter than on the 30 m course , which was statistically significant ( 95 % CI 39.4 to 59.6 ) . By using existing reference equations for a 6MWT conducted on the 10 m course , the predicted distance is highly overestimated ( with a range of 30 % to 33 % ) and the average distance as a percentage of the predicted value is 8%pred lower compared to a 6MWT conducted on the 30 m course , result ing in a worse representation of a COPD patient 's functional exercise capacity . CONCLUSION This study shows that the impact of course length on the 6MWD and on the use of reference equations in patients with COPD is substantial and clinical ly relevant ( based on the most conservative published minimum clinical ly important difference ) . Therefore , existing reference equations established for a 6MWT conducted over a 30 m ( or longer ) course can not be applied to predict the distance achieved on the 6MWT on a 10 m course , which is frequently used in primary care physiotherapy practice s for patients with COPD
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 .