title: Twelve-minute walking test in a group of Dutch patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; relationship with functional capacity.
abstract: Limitations in exercise tolerance are characteristic for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The twelve-minute walking test has been proposed as a simple, reproducible test to assess exercise tolerance in these patients. We investigated factors, that predicted the twelve-minute walking distance in a group of fifty patients with COPD, who had a maximal reversibility in the FEV1 of 20% after inhaled salbutamol. There was a strong correlation between walking distance and IVC (%pred) (p less than 0.001), RV% TLC (%pred) (p less than 0.001), FEV1 (ml) (p less than 0.001), FEV1 (%pred) (p less than 0.001) and PaO2 (mm Hg) (p less than 0.01). It is concluded that pathophysiological factors are the main determinants of the twelve-minute walking distance.
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Dekhuyzen
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kaptein
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Dekker
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wagenaar
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Janssen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010807:Physical Endurance