Article

PURPOSE: To establish at which exercise-power level is the vascular response, as
measured by oxygen uptake, closest to the response during the 6-min walk test (6
MWT) in people after lower-limb amputation due to peripheral vascular disease (PVD). METHOD: A prospective exploratory cohort study was conducted. 6 MWT and
exercise testing using a hand-wheel ergometer (starting at 10 W and increasing
the workload by 10 W) were performed in 101 consecutively recruited participants
after transfemoral amputation due to PVD. Agreement of oxygen uptake during 6 MWT
and exercise testing was compared between the groups defined by the
exercise-power level reached. RESULTS: Linear regression through origin with Chow
test for comparing slopes indicated that oxygen uptake at 30 W agreed more with 6
MWT than at 20, 40 or 50 W. Analyses of observed differences (one-way ANOVA with
post-hoc tests, Jonckheere-Terpstra test) confirmed 30 W to be the recommendable
threshold. CONCLUSIONS: At the level of 30 W, the oxygen uptake during the
exercise was the closest to the 6 MWT, so we estimated that to be the minimum
required level for walking using a prosthesis after transfemoral amputation due
to PVD. Implications for Rehabilitation Exercise testing after transfemoral
amputation. Walking with a prosthesis causes notable strain to the person's
vascular system: after the 6-min walk test, the participants' heart rate reached
75% of the maximum predicted heart rate on average.
The study shows that persons
after transfemoral amputation due to peripheral vascular disease who reach the
level of 30 W or more in exercise testing with an arm ergometer at admission to
rehabilitation are likely to be able to walk in-doors using a prosthesis.

Langue : ANGLAIS