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.<p>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.

The data collected consisted of the baseline HR and SpO2, along with the SpO2 nadir and peak HR during the 6MWT. 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).

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. Because a M-6MWT may not reflect normal daily living, this test may lead to an inaccurate assessment of their requirement for ambulatory oxygen. 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).

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.</p>