ABSTRACT
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic pulmonary rehabilitation moved to a telehealth platform and the 1-min sit-to-stand test (1minSTS) was often used instead of the 6-min walk test (6MWT) to evaluate functional exercise capacity. We sought to determine;(i) the extent to which the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) could be estimated from the number of repetitions achieved during the 1minSTS and, (ii) agreement in cardiorespiratory responses elicited collected during the tests. Method(s): Data were extracted from medical records on all people who attended the advanced lung disease service at Fiona Stanley Hospital between September 2021 and January 2022. Pulse rate and oxygen saturation (SpO 2) were measured continuously during both tests using a pulse oximeter. Symptoms were quantified using the Borg scale (0 to 10). Result(s): Data were available on 80 participants (43 males;age 64 +/- 10 years;FEV 1 1.65 +/- 0.77 L). Compared with the 6MWT, the 1minSTS resulted in a higher nadir (mean difference [MD] 4%, 95% CI 3 to 5), higher peak pulse rate (MD 8 bpm, 95% CI 5 to 11), similar intensity of dyspnoea (MD -0.3, 95% CI -0.6 to 0.1) and greater leg fatigue (MD 1.1, 95% CI 0.6 to 1.6). Of those who demonstrated severe desaturation (SpO 2 nadir <85%) on the 6MWT (n = 18), 5 and 10 were classified as moderate (SpO 2 nadir 85% to 89%) or mild desaturators (SpO 2 nadir >= 90%), respectively on the 1minSTS. The equation that represented the relationship between 6MWD and 1minSTS was: 6MWD (m) = 247 + (7 x number of transitions achieved during the 1minSTS;r 2 = 0.44). Conclusion(s): The 6MWT elicited greater desaturation, a lower peak pulse rate and greater leg fatigue than the 1minSTS. A smaller proportion of people will be classified as 'severe desaturators' using the 1minSTS test. The capacity to estimate the 6MWD using results of the 1minSTS is limited.