Key result
The reliability coefficient for determining the first ventilatory threshold (VT1) during a peak exercise test on the Cruiser ergometer was 0.89 for subjects with a lower limb amputation.
Why the study?
The first and second ventilatory thresholds are used to individually prescribe exercise training programs, but the inter- and intraobserver reliabilities of determining them during arm-leg ergometry in subjects with lower limb amputation and able-bodied subjects needed evaluation.
Can the first and second ventilatory thresholds be reliably determined during a peak exercise test on a combined arm-leg ergometer in subjects with a lower limb amputation?
Observational (n=47)
Blinded observers
No
Can the first and second ventilatory thresholds be reliably determined during a peak exercise test on a combined arm-leg ergometer in subjects with a lower limb amputation?
The first ventilatory threshold (VT1) can be reliably determined during a peak exercise test on a combined arm-leg ergometer to prescribe exercise training programs for populations with lower limb amputations, whereas VT2 determination is less reliable.
VT1 reliability on combined ergometers in lower limb amputation may aid exercise testing; leaves open clinical adoption pending larger validation studies.
The first (VT1) and second ventilator (VT2) (anaerobic) thresholds are used to individually prescribe exercise training programs. The purpose of this research was to analyze inter- and intraobserver reliabilities of determining VT1 and VT2 in subjects with lower limb amputation (LLA) and able-bodied (AB) subjects during a peak exercise test on the arm-leg (Cruiser) ergometer. Previously published data of exercise tests on the Cruiser ergometer of subjects with LLA ( n = 17) and AB subjects ( n = 30) were analyzed twice by two observers. The VT1 and VT2 were determined based on ventilation plots. Differences in determining the VT1 and VT2 between the observers for the first and second analyses were analyzed. To quantify variation in measurement a variance component analysis was performed. Bland-Altmann plots were made, and limits of agreement were calculated. The number of observations in which thresholds could not be determined differed significantly between observers and analysis. Variation in VT1 between and within observers was small (0-1.6%) compared with the total variation, for both the subjects with an LLA and AB subjects. The reliability coefficient for VT1 was more than 0.75, and the limits of agreement were good. In conclusion, based on the results of this study on a population level, VT1 can be used to prescribe exercise training programs after an LLA. In the current study, the determination of VT2 was less reliable than VT1. More research is needed into the clinical application of VT1 and VT2 during a peak exercise test on the Cruiser ergometer.
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Simmelink et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Lower limb amputation (n=47). Peak exercise test on the combined arm-leg (Cruiser) ergometer vs. Able-bodied subjects was evaluated on Reliability coefficient for the first ventilatory threshold (VT1) expressed as VO2 in subjects with a lower limb amputation. The reliability coefficient for determining the first ventilatory threshold (VT1) during a peak exercise test on the Cruiser ergometer was 0.89 for subjects with a lower limb amputation.
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