The incremental shuttle walking test in elderly people with chronic airflow limitation

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Abstract
Background: There is a concern that comorbidity or frailty in older people could limit the usefulness of currently available exercise tests for chronic lung disease. This study evaluated the feasibility and reproducibility of the incremental shuttle walking test (SWT) in people aged 70 years or over, compared exercise tolerance with other disability markers, and assessed whether the SWT is responsive to change after bronchodilators. Methods: Fifty elderly patients with chronic airflow limitation (CAL) and 32 controls without airflow limitation attempted the SWT before and after combined nebulised salbutamol/ipratropium bromide. Subjects also completed the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living index (NEADL) and the London Handicap score (LHS). Results: Forty four subjects with CAL (88%) and 29 controls (84%) completed the SWT, including many with co-morbidities. Two week repeatability was good and the SWT was strongly associated with EADL (r=0.51, pr=0.43, p1) (r=0.31, p=0.05). Subjects with CAL walked a mean distance of 177.7 m compared with 243.3 m in controls (p1. Overall, these results suggest that the SWT might be an appropriate measure to assess interventions in elderly people.