Six-minute Walk Test Summary Tabular Data, 2023-2024

Patients with lung disease who report breathlessness on exertion are often referred for a 6-minute walk test (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.

However, because this test asks patients to walk as far as possible (a maximal 6MWT; M-6MWT), it may not reflect normal daily living. A M-6MWT, therefore, may lead to an inaccurate assessment of their requirement for ambulatory oxygen. The purpose of the project was to assess if the standard M-6MWT (as recommended by international guidelines) differed from asking patients to walk at their normal walking pace (N-6MWT).

The data collected consisted of the baseline HR and SpO2 (collected via a Bluetooth pulse oximeter), along with the SpO2 nadir and peak HR during the 6MWT. The total distance walked (6MWD) and the % predicted was also recorded (using a lap counter), along with basic demographic information (verbal questioning). From these, the drop in SpO2 can be calculated and was compared between two different 6MWTs - one where the patient was asked to walk as far as possible (a maximal 6MWT; M-6MWT) or at their normal walking pace (N-6MWT). The dataset presented provides all raw and calculated data from these two tests for each participant, scored by two independent assessors (as there is some subjectivity in determining these parameters).

We hypothesise that performing a N-6MWT will provide a more accurate assessment of a patients' oxygen requirement, primarily from their oxygen desaturation during the test.

主诉运动后呼吸困难的肺部疾病患者常被转诊进行6分钟步行试验（6-minute walk test, 6MWT）。试验中，患者需在走廊（或其他平坦区域）往返行走6分钟，期间通过脉搏血氧仪（指夹式探头）无创监测血氧饱和度与心率，并记录行走距离。此外，采用包含Borg评分的问卷，分别于试验前及试验结束后即刻评估患者自我感知的呼吸困难程度与腿部肌肉疲劳感。

然而，由于该试验要求患者尽可能走远（即最大6分钟步行试验；maximal 6MWT, M-6MWT），其结果可能无法反映正常日常生活状态。因此，M-6MWT可能导致对患者移动用氧需求的评估不准确。本项目旨在评估国际指南推荐的标准M-6MWT与要求患者以日常步行速度行走的试验（normal 6MWT, N-6MWT）是否存在差异。

收集的数据包括基线心率（HR）与血氧饱和度（SpO2，通过蓝牙脉搏血氧仪采集），以及试验期间的最低SpO2与最高HR。同时记录总行走距离（6MWD）、预测百分比（通过计圈器测量）及基本人口统计学信息（通过口头询问获取）。基于上述数据可计算SpO2下降值，并比较两种6MWT（即要求患者尽可能走远的M-6MWT与以日常速度行走的N-6MWT）之间的差异。

我们假设，采用N-6MWT可更准确地评估患者的用氧需求，其核心依据为试验期间的血氧饱和度下降情况。