[Value and indications of exercise test in pneumology]

Exercise testing is the only integrate exploration technique, i.e., a technique which tests pulmonary, cardiac and muscular function, currently available in pneumology. The first indication for exercise testing in pneumology is to evaluate the exercise capacity of dyspnea patients. This can be done by measuring exercise tolerance and by differentiating each of the elements in the oxygen transport chain which can contribute to the dyspea, from a classical diagnostic standpoint, the exercise test can be used to screen for post-exercise asthma or a right-left shunt, estimate the severity of respiratory disease by demonstrating, for example, exercise-induced hypoxia. The exercise test also plays a fundamental role in preoperative evaluation prior to surgical resection of lung transplantation. It can also serve as a natural follow-up for treatment of respiratory diseases. One final and fundamental indication for exercise.