Assessing Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Clinical Rehabilitation: Validity of Field Exercise Tests and Patient-Reported...

Area of Science:

• Cardiorespiratory fitness assessment in clinical rehabilitation settings.
• Validity and reliability of exercise tests and patient-reported outcomes.

Background:

• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).
• Field exercise tests and patient-reported questionnaires are potential alternatives when CPET is not feasible in clinical rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the criterion and construct validity of field exercise tests and patient-reported questionnaires.
• To compare these methods against CPET for estimating CRF in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary or oncologic rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-nine patients undergoing rehabilitation performed CPET, steep ramp test (SRT), and 6-minute walk test (6-MWT).
• Patients also completed the Duke activity status index (DASI), veterans-specific activity questionnaire (VSAQ), and FitMáx questionnaire.
• Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) from field tests and questionnaires was compared with measured VO2peak from CPET.

Main Results:

• The SRT's peak work rate (SRT-WRpeak) showed a strong correlation (ρ=0.87) with CPET-VO2peak.
• The FitMáx questionnaire also demonstrated a strong correlation (ρ=0.78) with CPET-VO2peak.
• The 6-minute walk test distance (6-MWD), DASI, and VSAQ showed moderate correlations with CPET-VO2peak.

Conclusions:

• The SRT and FitMáx questionnaire are the most valid and reliable alternatives to CPET for estimating CRF in rehabilitation.
• These methods are recommended when CPET is not feasible, offering practical solutions for CRF assessment.