Effect of encouragement on walking test performance.

Abstract

ABSTRACr Walking tests, frequently used to document effects of treatment on exercise capacity, have never been standardised. We studied the effects of encouragement on walking test performance in a randomised study that controlled for the nature of the underlying disease, time of day, and order effects. We randomised 43 patients with chronic airflow limitation or chronic heart failure or both to receive or not receive encouragement as they performed serial two and six minute walks every fortnight for 10 weeks. Simple encouragement improved performance (p < 0*02 for the six minute walk), and the magnitude of the effect was similar to that reported for patients in studies purporting to show beneficial effects of therapeutic manoeuvres. Age and test repetition also affected performance. These results demonstrate the need for careful standardisation of the performance of walking tests, and suggest caution in interpreting studies in which standardisation is not a major feature of the study design. Accepted 21 May 1984 ment was given "as necessary." In subsequent experiments using walking tests as measures of exercise capacity encouragement was not held constant. We were concerned that the influence of encouragement might be sufficiently great to rival treatment effects, and therefore we investigated the impact of encouragement on two and six minute walking tests performance in patients with chronic lung and chronic heart disease. Methods PATIENTSWe recruited two groups of subjects who experienced fatigue or dyspnoea while performing activities of daily living. The first, with respiratory conditions, attended a regional referral centre for patients with pulmonary problems and had a best recorded forced expired volume in one second (FEVy) less than 70% of the predicted value. The second group, patients with heart failure, who had been referred by local cardiologists, had impaired left ventricular function demonstrated by angiography, radionuclide scanning, or echocardiography. Exclusion criteria for both groups were as follows:(1) limitation of exercise performance as a result of factors other than fatigue or exertional dyspnoea, 818

Teste de caminhada de seis minutos em diferentes faixas etárias e índices de massa corporal

“…The present study also demonstrated that the older is the individual, the shorter is the covered distance, as other studies had previously demonstrated 7,9,10,12 . In the work of Troosters and colleagues 9 healthy individuals with age between 50 and 85 years performed the six-minute walk test and the results showed the same relationship found by Enright and The difference in walking distance can be explained by the decrease in global muscle strength 9 and pulmonary function as a physiological consequence of the aging process.…”

“…However, the American Thoracic Society guidelines mention that the second test is not always necessary 4 . In spite of that, other authors suggest the need for the second test 9,10,12,13,14 . One of the possible reasons for this contradiction is the use of different protocols, with or without incentive, with distinct walkway lengths, and with or without walking accompaniment.…”

Prevalence and consequences of nutritional depletion in lung transplant candidates

“…Arterial blood gases were determined in room air. A 6-min walking test was performed according to the recommendations of GUYATT et al [9]. Nutritional status was assessed by BMI (kg .…”

Efeitos de programa de exercícios físicos direcionado ao aumento da mobilidade torácica em pacientes portadores de doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica

“…Os pacientes eram encorajados através de frases de incentivo padronizadas e repetidas a cada minuto a fim de que deambulassem o mais rápido possível durante todo o teste. (18) O desempenho do paciente foi avaliado pela maior distância percorrida em um dos testes. As freqüências cardíaca e respira- Após dois meses de tratamento, não foi observada alteração da função pulmonar em nenhum dos grupos estudados (Tabela 3).…”