Prueba de caminata de carga progresiva (Incremental Shuttle Walking Test) en niños sanos

Abstract

Background: The “incremental shuttle walking test” (ISWT) is an incremental test that allows the functional evaluation of respiratory diseases. It shows a greater correlation between distance walked and the maximum O2 uptake compared to the six-minute walking test. Presently we do not have reference values in Chilean pediatric population. Objective: To know the distance walked by children in the test. Material and Method: This was a correlational descriptive study. The final sample consisted of 60 subjects (35 boys and 25 girls) randomly selected from an age range from 10 to 14 years-old. During the test, walked distance (WD) in meters, basal and final heart rate (HR), dyspnea, subjective sensation of fatigue (SSF), gender, weight (kg), height (m) and cardiac response to exercise (CRE) were recorded. Descriptive statistics were performed in both series followed by a t-test to look for differences among genders. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to verify the correlation between variables. Results were expressed as mean ± SD. Results: Mean of WD in all the 60 children together was 596.2 ± 178.7 m; in average WD in girls series was 531.6 ± 136.5 m and in boys series was 642.3 ± 192.4 m (p = 0.017). The average height for boys was 1.50 ± 0.08 m and for girls was 1.53 ± 0.08 m (p = 0.245). The average BMI for boys was 18.3 ± 1.6 kg/m2 and for girls was 19.3 ± 2.2 kg/m2 (p = 0.041). Pearson's correlation coefficient between the average of meters walked for all the 60 children together and CRE was 0.570 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Boys showed a greater WD than girls in ISWT. There was no influence of age, weight, height or BMI on distance walked on the ISWT A positive correlation is shown between the WD and the CRE.