NCT05630092

Comparing 6-Minute Walk Tests for Ambulatory Oxygen Assessment

Comparison of the Standard 6-Minute Maximal Speed Walk Test Against a 6-Minute Normal Speed Walk Test as an Alternative and More Accurate Assessment for Ambulatory Oxygen Requirement.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 93 (actual)
• Sponsor: Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 90 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Patients with lung disease who report breathlessness on exertion are often referred for a 6MWT. Due to the nature of the 6MWT (hereon referred to as a Max-6MWT), patients are required to walk as far as they can in 6 minutes. This may lead to an inaccurate assessment of their requirement for ambulatory oxygen as this form of exercise may not correspond to their normal daily activities. In this study, patients who are routinely referred for a Max-6MWT to investigate possible exercise-induced hypoxaemia will be invited to perform an additional walking test which is performed at their normal walking speed, referred here on in as a Nor\_6MWT. We hypothesise that performing a Nor\_6MWT will provide a more accurate assessment of a patients' oxygen requirement, primarily from their oxygen desaturation during the test.

Detailed description

Patients with lung disease who report breathlessness on exertion are often referred for a 6MWT. During this test patients are asked to walk up and down a corridor (or other flat area) for six minutes whilst their blood oxygen levels and heart rate are non-invasively measured using a pulse oximeter (finger probe) and the distance walked is measured. In addition, a questionnaire that obtains a Borg Score measures the patients perceived breathlessness and leg muscle fatigue both before and immediately following the test. Due to the nature of the 6MWT (hereon referred to as a Max-6MWT), patients are required to walk as far as they can in 6 minutes. This may lead to an inaccurate assessment of their requirement for ambulatory oxygen as this form of exercise may not correspond to their normal daily activities. It may also not accurately measure the normal changes in oxygen saturation (or desaturation) that occurs in these patients during their normal daily activities (such as walking to the shops, walking up the stairs, gardening). In this study, patients who are routinely referred for a Max-6MWT to investigate possible exercise-induced hypoxaemia will be invited to perform an additional walking test which is performed at their normal walking speed, referred here on in as a Nor\_6MWT. We hypothesise that performing a Nor\_6MWT will provide a more accurate assessment of a patients' oxygen requirement, primarily from their oxygen desaturation during the test.

Conditions

• Respiratory Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DIAGNOSTIC_TEST	Maximal 6-minute Walk Test (Max_6MWT)	Instructions given to perform the walk test following the international guidelines using the phrase 'as far as you can'.
DIAGNOSTIC_TEST	Normal speed 6-minute Walk Test (Nor_6MWT)	Instructions given to perform the walk test following the international guidelines except using the phrase 'at a speed you would normally walk'.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-01-01
• Primary completion: 2024-02-23
• Completion: 2024-05-01
• First posted: 2022-11-29
• Last updated: 2024-11-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United Kingdom