Within and between day repeatability of the incremental shuttle walking test in patients with thoracic cancer

Wilcock, Andrew; Koon, Sim; Manderson, Cathann; Taylor, Vicky; Maddocks, Matthew

Abstract

Background:
Breathlessness is common in patients with thoracic cancer but difficult to manage. The Incremental Shuttle Walking Test (ISWT) can help assess new treatments, but its repeatability has not been described in this group.

Aim:
To examine within and between day repeatability of the ISWT in this setting.

Methods:
Patients with incurable thoracic cancer were recruited from outpatient clinics at a University Hospital. Two ISWTs were completed one hour apart on two consecutive days, with the first test for familiarization purposes only. Repeatability of distance walked was examined using Bland and Altman plots and assessed as the single determination (within subject) standard deviation of the difference between tests and its 95% range.

Results:
Forty-one patients participated and completed all tests. Mean (SD) distance walked was 333 (134), 349 (129) and 353 (130) m over the three tests, with the mean difference significantly different from zero between days (16 m, 95% CI 8–24 m, P = 0.043) but not within days (5 m, 95% CI –2 to 12 m, P = 0.47). Within and between day single determination SD and 95% ranges were 30 (−31 to 91) m and 36 (−37 to 109) m respectively.

Conclusions:
These data help inform the design of studies making use of the ISWT and the interpretation of their findings.

Citation

Wilcock, A., Koon, S., Manderson, C., Taylor, V., & Maddocks, M. (2018). Within and between day repeatability of the incremental shuttle walking test in patients with thoracic cancer. Respiratory Medicine, 140, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2018.05.018

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 19, 2018
• Online Publication Date: May 21, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: May 22, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: May 22, 2019
• Journal: Respiratory Medicine
• Print ISSN: 0954-6111
• Electronic ISSN: 1532-3064
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 140
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2018.05.018
• Keywords: Exercise; Incremental shuttle walking test; Lung cancer; Mesothelioma; Non-small cell lung cancer; Small cell lung cancer
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/961157
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095461111830180X
• Contract Date: May 22, 2018