Which is the best protocol and cut-off point in the 4-metre gait speed test to discriminate exercise capacity in COPD?

Phenotyping Adopters of Mobile Applications Among Patients With COPD: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Participants with COPD using apps presented higher physical capacity than those not using apps, as shown by walking greater distances in the 6MWT and faster in the gait speed test. This difference could be related to App users being younger, as significant correlations between age and gait speed became apparent from our data (data not showed) and have been reported in the literature (32,33). Specifically, Zeng et al have reported age as a significant independent predictor of the distance walked in the 6MWT in people with COPD (adjusted R 2 = 0.445, p < 0.01) (32).…”

Gait speed in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Quickly stepping in the right direction

“…In addition, 6MWTs also provide assessments of oxygenation status, which carries important prognostic significance and therapeutic implications 9,10 . Unlike the 6MWD that has a relatively consistent MCID across different diseases, 11 the thresholds for abnormal gait speed and its change appear to vary across different pulmonary and non‐pulmonary diagnoses 4,12–14 …”

“…9,10 Unlike the 6MWD that has a relatively consistent MCID across different diseases, 11 the thresholds for abnormal gait speed and its change appear to vary across different pulmonary and non-pulmonary diagnoses. 4,[12][13][14] There are other practical considerations that need to be addressed before adopting a new functional exercise test for clinical use and research applications. First, there is a large impact of test procedures on gait speed measures, 3 highlighting the need to develop a standardized and reproducible protocol for gait speed assessments for quality assurance.…”

“…Second, a consistent test would ideally be used across all common chronic lung diseases to streamline workflow and training of assessors and clinicians. While there are some promising studies on gait speed assessments in COPD and increasingly in fibrotic ILD, 4,6,7,13,14 there are limited data for other chronic lung diseases such as pulmonary hypertension and cystic fibrosis for which 6MWD is frequently used to guide therapeutic decisions and serves as a wellestablished clinical trial endpoint. 15,16 Third, reimbursement is available for 6MWTs in different countries, while reimbursement is not typically available for gait speed assessments, 15 providing a major financial disincentive for implementation.…”