Comparison of the Sit-To-Stand test with Six Minute Walk Test in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is defined as a diseased state characterized by poorly reversible airflow limitation that is usually both progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lung. As a sub maximal exercise test, the 6 min walking test (6MWT) is a good predictor of functional status for patients with chronic respiratory disease. The 6MWT is easy to administer, well tolerated and more reflective of activities of daily life than the other walk tests and cardiopulmonary exercise tests. The ability to stand up from a chair is an important component for maintaining independence in elderly people and in individuals with disabilities. For this reason, Sit-to-Stand Test (STST) has been accepted as an indicator of functional status for elderly people. Therefore, we concluded that, similar to the 6MWT, STST can also be used to determine the functional status in patients with COPD. Objective: The objective of the present study is to evaluate the functional status by the STST and the 6MWT in patients with COPD, and to compare the results of both tests according to some outcome parameters of the patients in order to investigate the utility of STST for patients with COPD. Method: The chosen subjects who agreed to participate in the study, pulmonary function test will be done before starting exercises. Subjects will be asked to pick a token numbered “1” and “2”. Patients with token “1” are asked to perform sit to stand test and token “2” are asked to perform 6 minute walk test. Patients were taught sit to stand test and 6 minute walk test prior to testing. Result:. HR, SBP and DBP shows significant difference of 0.000 (p<0.005) at the end of both SMWT and STST. Whereas, subjective exertion also shows significant difference of 0.000(p<0.05) .Strong correlation was found with r=0.418 (p<0.05) between SMWT distance and STST repetitions. At the end of both tests we found significant correlation of HR, SBP and DBP with r=0.705, 0.607 and 0.446 respectively. (p < 0.05). Whereas significant correlation with r=0.882 (p˂0.05) was obtained for subjective exertion at the end of both SMWT and STST Conclusion: Both the tests were found to be effective in measuring cardio-vascular endurance in COPD patients. We also found significant difference for performance variable and criterion measures in both tests clinically and statistically. Therefore, we conclude STST can be an alternative of SMWT to assess cardio-vascular endurance in patients with COPD.