The 6-Minute Walk Test predicts long-term physical improvement among intensive care unit survivors: a prospective cohort study
Régis Goulart Rosa, Camila Dietrich, Enio Luiz Tschiedel do Valle, Denise de Souza, Luciana Vilela Tagliari, Mariana Mattioni, Túlio Frederico Tonietto, Rosa da Rosa, Mirceli Goulart Barbosa, Gisele Agustini Lovatel, Pedro Dal Lago, Eubrando Silvestre Oliveira, Daniel Sganzerla, Juliana Mara Stormovski de Andrade, Paula Pinheiro Berto, Paulo Ricardo Cerveira Cardoso, Évelin Carneiro Sanchez, Maicon Falavigna, Juçara Gasparetto Maccari, Gabriela Soares Rech, Caroline Cabral Robinson, Daniel Schneider, Patrícia de Leon, Lívia Biason, Cassiano Teixeira
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of the 6-Minute Walk Test to predict long-term physical functional status improvement among intensive care unit survivors. METHODS: Thirty-two intensive care unit survivors were prospectively evaluated from February 2017 to August 2018 in a post-intensive care unit outpatient clinic in Brazil. Individuals with intensive care unit stays > 72 hours (emergency admissions) or > 120 hours (elective admissions) attending the post-intensive care unit clinic four months after intensive care unit discharge were consecutively enrolled. The association between the 6-Minute Walk Test distance at baseline and physical functional status was assessed over 8 months using the Barthel Index. RESULTS: The mean 6-Minute Walk Test distance was significantly lower in intensive care unit survivors than in the general population (405m versus 557m; p < 0.001). Age (β = -4.0; p < 0.001) and muscle weakness (β = -99.7; p = 0.02) were associated with the 6-Minute Walk Test distance. A 6-Minute Walk Test distance was associated with improvement in physical functional status over the 8-month follow-up (odds ratio for each 10m of 1.07; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.16; p = 0.03). The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve for the 6-Minute Walk Test prediction of physical functional status improvement was 0.72 (95%CI 0.53 - 0.88). CONCLUSION: The 6-Minute Walk Test performed 4 months after intensive care unit discharge predicted long-term physical functional status among intensive care unit survivors with moderate accuracy.