Biological quality control for exercise testing

A study was undertaken to evaluate the use of a biological quality control programme for a computer controlled, breath-by-breath exercise test system over a 2.5 year period.

One healthy volunteer performed a regular progressive treadmill test with breath-by-breath measurements of oxygen uptake (VO(2)), carbon dioxide output (VCO(2)), ventilation (VE), and the ECG heart rate (HR). Following a familiarisation period, five consecutive tests were performed and the measurements at peak exercise were averaged to give baseline values. All tests were compared with these values.

A total of 35 tests were recorded. The within subject standard deviation for measurements at peak exercise were 52 ml/min for VO(2), 74 ml/min for VCO(2), 3.1 l/min for VE, and 3 beats/min for HR. The mean (SE) percentage variation in measurements at peak exercise compared with the baseline values was +0.37 (0.30)% for VO(2), -0.10 (0.39)% for VCO(2), -0.88 (0.52)% for VE, and +1.2 (0.26)% for HR. The variability present in measurements made during high and moderate intensity exercise (73% VO(2)peak) was not significantly different (p>0.05). During the study period the quality control detected a fault on the oxygen analyser which was not apparent from the automatic calibration.

Regular quality control using a healthy volunteer allows all components of the breath-by-breath system to be checked simultaneously and in a manner which is consistent with its clinical use. This practice can highlight faults not detected by automatic calibration.