Monitoring and reporting for 6MWT
Safety
Complications associated with the performance of the 6MWT are unusual. We were unable to find
published reports of complications associated with performance of the 6MWT in clinical trials. Only two
articles have specifically addressed the issue of complications during the 6MWT. In 741 patients attending
an outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme who completed the 6MWT in accordance with a
standardised protocol, including continuous monitoring of oxyhaemoglobin saturation (SpO2) and HR,
adverse events were noted in 43 (6%) of patients [35]. The most common adverse event was oxygen
desaturation ,80%, upon which the test was terminated by the operator (35 out of 43); chest pain (one out
of 43) and tachycardia (one out of 43) were also recorded. No long-term adverse sequelae from these events
were reported. In the remaining tests the patients developed intolerable symptoms and the test was
discontinued, which would be expected during the 6MWT and is not considered a complication. A second
study in ILD (n519) showed that desaturation to ,80% occurred in 58% of participants during the 6MWT
[36]. Concurrent ECG monitoring showed no clinically significant arrhythmias that needed treatment,
although atrial tachycardia occurred in one case.