“Field exercise testing in COPD”

Key words: COPD, prognosis, six-minute walk test

Field exercise testing plays a key role in clinical evaluation of functional exercise capacity in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is the most frequently employed field exercise test used to evaluate walking capacity in COPD, expressed as the distance walked in six minutes (6MWD). This thesis aimed to increase the current knowledge for 6MWT and to strengthen its utility by providing novel insights on determinants and the interpretation of walking performance as well as demonstrating determinants of exercise-induced oxygen desaturation (EID), CO2-retention and exercise-induce hypercapnia (EIH), and assessing and extending 6MWT prognostic value.