Physiological responses of incremental and endurance shuttle walk tests in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): narrative review

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Objectives The objective of the study was to describe the physiological responses (cardiovascular, metabolic and ventilatory) of the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) and Endurance Shuttle Walk Test (ESWT) in patients with COPD.Methods Databases searched were Medical Literature Library of Medicine, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science and Scopus. Inclusion criteria: assessment of the physiological effects, participants aging ≥18 years, of both genders and diagnosed with COPD; publications in English, and observational or interventional studies published in indexed journals.Results Of 4,071 abstracts identified, 15 articles were included. Quality of the studies was assessed by the STROBE. 11 articles presented quality B and 4, quality C. The articles included described that there was no statistical significance regarding Heart Rate (HR), Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2), and dyspnoea when compared between ISWT and ESWT after the tests; as well as Peak Oxygen Consumption (VO2peak) compared during and after two tests.Conclusion ISWT is the most used test when compared to the ESWT; HR, SpO2, dyspnoea and VO2 were similar between ISWT and ESWT. However, there are not many studies that compare the responses produced by these, making it difficult to make more precise statements about the two tests.