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Updated: Jan 12, 2026
Competitive Transplants to Evaluate Hematopoietic Stem Cell Fitness
Published on: August 31, 2016
Is the 6-Minute Step Test Feasible and Safe for Patients Undergoing Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell
Brenda Mara Santos da Costa1, Giovani Bernardo Costa1, Karina da Silva2
1University Hospital, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora.
Objective:
To assess the feasibility, safety, and performance of the 6-minute step test (6MST) in hospitalized patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
Design:
Longitudinal observational cohort study.
Setting:
Hospitalization, bone marrow transplant unit.
Participants:
Thirty-six hospitalized patients (N=36) scheduled for HSCT, aged over 18 years, of both sexes, were invited to participate in the study.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Primary outcomes include feasibility (recruitment rate: number of patients invited and who agreed to participate and attrition rate: number of patients who agreed but could not participate because of an adverse clinical condition) and safety (number of adverse events per number of 6MST tests performed). Secondary outcome includes patient performance in the test (number of steps, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and perceived exertion).
Results:
All patients agreed to participate in the study (recruitment rate=100%) and were submitted to autologous HSCT. Of these, 2 patients could not perform the 6MST at hospital discharge because of postural or clinical instability (attrition rate=5.6%). Five adverse events occurred in 70 tests (1 bleeding episode, 1 loss of central venous access, 1 vomiting episode, 1 oxygen desaturation, and 1 presyncope), representing 7.1% of the total tests. One adverse event occurred at hospital admission (2.8%), while 4 occurred at discharge (11.7%). Patients demonstrated similar exercise capacity at admission and discharge (107.6±25.9 vs 102.1±29.9), but with increased hemodynamic response and perceived exertion at discharge (P<.05).
Conclusions:
The 6MST is a feasible assessment for patients hospitalized for autologous HSCT. However, it is associated with a higher incidence of adverse events at discharge compared to hospital admission.
