tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Respiration
. 2021 Apr 20;1-6.
doi: 10.1159/000515606. Online ahead of print.
Validity of the 6-Minute Walk Test in Patients with End-Stage Lung Diseases Wearing an Oronasal Surgical Mask in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Isabell Anna Just[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Felix Schoenrath[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Philipp Passinger[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Julia Stein[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Dagmar Kemper[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christoph Knosalla[SUP] 1 2 4 [/SUP], Volkmar Falk[SUP] 1 2 4 5 [/SUP], Jan Knierim[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background and objectives: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT), as a clinical assessment tool for functional exercise capacity, is an integral component of lung allocation scores (LASs). In times of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, patients underwent 6MWTs wearing a surgical mask in ambulatory care. We investigated the impact of wearing a mask on 6-minute walk distances (6MWDs).
Method: 6MWDs of 64 patients with end-stage lung diseases wearing an oronasal surgical mask were retrospectively compared to previously investigated 6MWDs of the same cohort, in a pre-COVID-19 pandemic era, without wearing a mask. Four patients were excluded due to a primary vascular disease, 29 patients due to clinically unstable pulmonary functions, and 1 patient due to a psychiatric disorder.
Results: The median age of the patients included was 55 (46-58) years; 15 (48%) were male. Ten (32.2%) were on the Eurotransplant lung transplant waiting list with a median LAS of 34.3 (31.9-36.2). Twenty (64.5%) patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, 7 (22.6%) had interstitial lung diseases, and 4 (12.9%) had other end-stage lung diseases. The mean 6MWD without versus with wearing a mask was 306.9 (101.9) versus 305.7 (103.8) m, with a mean difference of -1.19 m (95% confidence interval -13.4 to 11.03). The observed difference is statistically equivalent to zero (p < 0.001). No significant differences in 6MWDs were observed between the clinical groups.
Conclusion: Wearing an oronasal surgical mask did not affect the 6MWDs of patients with advanced lung diseases. Therefore, a masked 6MWT appears to provide a reliable examination of functional exercise capacity in this cohort.
Keywords: 6-minute walk test; Advanced pulmonary disease; COVID-19 pandemic; Lung transplantation.
. 2021 Apr 20;1-6.
doi: 10.1159/000515606. Online ahead of print.
Validity of the 6-Minute Walk Test in Patients with End-Stage Lung Diseases Wearing an Oronasal Surgical Mask in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Isabell Anna Just[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Felix Schoenrath[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Philipp Passinger[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Julia Stein[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Dagmar Kemper[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christoph Knosalla[SUP] 1 2 4 [/SUP], Volkmar Falk[SUP] 1 2 4 5 [/SUP], Jan Knierim[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33878758
- DOI: 10.1159/000515606
Abstract
Background and objectives: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT), as a clinical assessment tool for functional exercise capacity, is an integral component of lung allocation scores (LASs). In times of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, patients underwent 6MWTs wearing a surgical mask in ambulatory care. We investigated the impact of wearing a mask on 6-minute walk distances (6MWDs).
Method: 6MWDs of 64 patients with end-stage lung diseases wearing an oronasal surgical mask were retrospectively compared to previously investigated 6MWDs of the same cohort, in a pre-COVID-19 pandemic era, without wearing a mask. Four patients were excluded due to a primary vascular disease, 29 patients due to clinically unstable pulmonary functions, and 1 patient due to a psychiatric disorder.
Results: The median age of the patients included was 55 (46-58) years; 15 (48%) were male. Ten (32.2%) were on the Eurotransplant lung transplant waiting list with a median LAS of 34.3 (31.9-36.2). Twenty (64.5%) patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, 7 (22.6%) had interstitial lung diseases, and 4 (12.9%) had other end-stage lung diseases. The mean 6MWD without versus with wearing a mask was 306.9 (101.9) versus 305.7 (103.8) m, with a mean difference of -1.19 m (95% confidence interval -13.4 to 11.03). The observed difference is statistically equivalent to zero (p < 0.001). No significant differences in 6MWDs were observed between the clinical groups.
Conclusion: Wearing an oronasal surgical mask did not affect the 6MWDs of patients with advanced lung diseases. Therefore, a masked 6MWT appears to provide a reliable examination of functional exercise capacity in this cohort.
Keywords: 6-minute walk test; Advanced pulmonary disease; COVID-19 pandemic; Lung transplantation.