Dyspnea ratings for prescription of cross-modal exercise in patients with COPD

To investigate the ability of patients with COPD to reproduce an exercise intensity accurately on the treadmill using dyspnea ratings obtained during incremental exercise on the cycle ergometer (cross-modal exercise prescription).

Five visits over an 8-week period.

Thirteen symptomatic patients with stable COPD. Age was 67+/-6 years (mean+/-SD). FEV1 was 1.15+/-0.22 L (45+/-7% predicted).

At each visit, patients performed spirometry and exercise. Visit 1 was a practice incremental exercise test on the cycle ergometer. At visit 2 (1 week later), patients estimated the intensity of dyspnea using the 0 to 10 category-ratio scale during an incremental exercise test on the cycle ergometer (cycle estimation trial). Visit 3, 5 weeks later, was a practice session on the treadmill. At visit 4, 1 week later, patients were instructed to produce specific intensities of dyspnea (ie, dyspnea targets) at 50% and at anaerobic threshold (AT) or 80% of peak oxygen consumption (VO2) as calculated from results at visit 2 (treadmill production trial). Visit 5, 1 week later, was the treadmill estimation trial.

Lung function was stable at all visits. Dyspnea ratings were 1.9+/-0.9 at 50% of VO2 and 5.6+/-1.5 at AT/80% of peak VO2 (17.5+/-3.3 mL/kg/min). The VO2 at the treadmill production trial (761+/-185 mL/min) was significantly higher than at the cycle estimation trial (612+/-159 mL/min) at the low dyspnea target (p < 0.0002; upward bias, 26+/-16%). In contrast, there was no significant difference in VO2 values (929+/-176 mL/min vs 948+/-259 mL/min) at the high dyspnea target (p > 0.5; 0+/-11% bias).

Patients with COPD can use dyspnea ratings from an incremental cycle ergometry test to regulate exercise on the treadmill without systematic bias at an intensity of 80% of peak VO2, but exceed the desired VO2 when using the dyspnea rating at an intensity of 50% of peak VO2.