Reproducibility of the six-minute walk test and Glittre ADL-test in patients hospitalized for acute and exacerbated chronic lung disease

Reproducibility of the six-minute walk test and Glittre ADL-test in patients hospitalized for acute and exacerbated chronic lung disease

Fisioterapia : organo de la Asociacion Espanola de Fisioterapia., June 2015

26039036

Anderson José, Simone Dal Corso

The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and the Glittre ADL-test (GT) are used to assess functional capacity and exercise tolerance; however, the reproducibility of these tests needs further study in patients with acute lung diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of the 6MWT and GT performed in patients hospitalized for acute and exacerbated chronic lung diseases. 48 h after hospitalization, 81 patients (50 males, age: 52±18 years, FEV1: 58±20% of the predicted value) performed two 6MWTs and two GTs in random order on different days. There was no difference between the first and second 6MWT (median 349 m [284-419] and 363 m [288-432], respectively) (ICC: 0.97; P<0.0001). A difference between the first and second tests was found in GT (median 286 s [220-378] and 244 s [197-323] respectively; P<0.001) (ICC: 0.91; P<0.0001). Although both the 6MWT and GT were reproducible, the best results occurred in the second test, demonstrating a learning effect. These results indicate that at least two tests are necessary to obtain reliable assessments.