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Exercise tolerance in children with cystic fibrosis undergoing lung transplantation assessment

2001; European Respiratory Society; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1183/09031936.01.00058701

1399-3003

P. Aurora, S. Ammani Prasad, Ian M. Balfour‐Lynn, Gail Slade, B. Whitehead, R Dinwiddie,

Cystic Fibrosis Research Advances

The aim of this study was to compare the 6-min walk test against the recently developed 3-min step test, as measures of exercise tolerance in children with moderate to severe cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease referred for lung transplantation assessment. Twenty-eight children with CF (16 girls, 12 boys), with a mean age of 13.7 yrs (range 7.2–17.8 yrs) and mean forced expiratory volume in one second of 34% predicted (range 17%–67%) were recruited. All subjects performed both the 6-min walk and 3-min step-tests. Outcome measures were maximum rise in heart rate (HR), and maximum fall in arterial oxygen saturation ( S a,O 2 ). There was no significant difference in resting HR or S a,O 2 prior to starting the two tests. Both step and walk tests produced significant rises in median HR (from 114–149 min −1 , p<0.0005, and 119–138 min −1 , p<0.0005, respectively) and significant falls in S a,O 2 (both from 94–92%, p<0.0005). The step test produced a significantly greater percentage rise in HR (30% versus 18%, p<0.0005) and a significantly greater percentage fall in S a,O 2 (4% versus 2%, p=0.002). Bland-Altman analysis gave wide 95% limits of agreement (10.7–29.3% for rise in HR, −2.1–4.6% for fall in S a,O 2 ). The step test was well tolerated. The 3-min step test produced a greater fall in S a,O 2 and a greater rise in HR than the 6-min walk test in children with moderate to severe CF lung disease. It may be of value when assessing a child's suitability for lung transplantation.