Yonsei Med J.  2014 May;55(3):732-738. 10.3349/ymj.2014.55.3.732.

COPD Patients with Exertional Desaturation Are at a Higher Risk of Rapid Decline in Lung Function

• Kim C
• Park YB
• Park SY
• Park S
• Kim CH
• Park SM
• Lee MG
• Hyun IG
• Jung KS
• Kim DG

• KMID: 2068684
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2014.55.3.732

Abstract

PURPOSE
A recent study demonstrated that exertional desaturation is a predictor of rapid decline in lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, the study was limited by its method used to detect exertional desaturation. The main purpose of this study was to explore whether exertional desaturation assessed using nadir oxygen saturation (SpO2) during the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) can predict rapid lung function decline in patients with COPD.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective analysis was performed on 57 patients with moderate to very severe COPD who underwent the 6MWT. Exertional desaturation was defined as a nadir SpO2 of <90% during the 6MWT. Rapid decline was defined as an annual rate of decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) > or =50 mL. Patients were divided into rapid decliner (n=26) and non-rapid decliner (n=31) groups.
RESULTS
A statistically significant difference in exertional desaturation was observed between rapid decliners and non-rapid decliners (17 vs. 8, p=0.003). No differences were found between the groups for age, smoking status, BODE index, and FEV1. Multivariate analysis showed that exertional desaturation was a significant independent predictor of rapid decline in patients with COPD (relative risk, 6.8; 95% CI, 1.8 to 25.4; p=0.004).
CONCLUSION
This study supports that exertional desaturation is a predictor of rapid lung function decline in male patients with COPD.

Keyword

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; exercise; hypoxemia; lung function

MeSH Terms

Aged
Anoxia/diagnosis/etiology
Exercise/*physiology
Female
Forced Expiratory Volume/physiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/*physiopathology
Respiratory Function Tests
Retrospective Studies

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