Control of Breathing and Exercise

To determine the effect of exercise capacity and health status on mortality in patients with COPD, Oga and coworkers followed 150 men with COPD (postbronchodilator FEV₁, 47% of predicted) over 5 years. After 5 years, 31 of the 144 patients available for analysis had died. Three sets of Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed. Univariate analysis revealed the mortality was correlated with the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire and with the Breathing Problems Questionnaire, but not with the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire. Multivariate analysis revealed that mortality was correlated with peak oxygen uptake during progressive cycle ergometry and with the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, independent of FEV₁ and age. Stepwise analysis revealed that peak oxygen uptake was the most significant predictor of mortality. The authors conclude that exercise capacity and health status predict mortality in patients with COPD, and that the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire and the Breathing Problems Questionnaire were stronger predictors than was the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire.

To examine factors influencing the reproducibility of the 6-minute walk test, Sciurba and coworkers analyzed data on the first 761 patients entered into the National Emphysema Treatment Trial. Of these, 470 patients repeated the walk on the next day. Patients walked 7% more (66 ft) on the second day; intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.88 between days. Patients walking on a circular or oval course walked 92 ft more than did patients walking on a straight course. Course length had no effect on walking distance. The authors conclude that the training effect during a 6-minute walk test is less than previously reported, and that layout of the track influences the distance walked

The American Thoracic Society and the American College of Chest Physicians present a statement on cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

Citations 1-3 of 3 total displayed.

Six-Minute Walk Distance in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Reproducibility and Effect of Walking Course Layout and Length

Frank Sciurba, Gerard J. Criner, Shing M. Lee, Zab Mohsenifar, David Shade, William Slivka, and Robert A. Wise
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167: 1522 -1527. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200203-166OC [Abstract] [Full text]

Analysis of the Factors Related to Mortality in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Role of Exercise Capacity and Health Status

Toru Oga, Koichi Nishimura, Mitsuhiro Tsukino, Susumu Sato, and Takashi Hajiro
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167: 544 -549. First published online as doi:10.1164/rccm.200206-583OC [Abstract] [Full text]

ATS/ACCP Statement on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 167: 211-277. [Full text]

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