摘要：Of 42 patients with chronic respiratory diseases, we measured oxygen saturation (SpO2) during the 6-minutes walk distance (6MD) test in order to investigate the relationship between SpO2 response and pulmonary function and motor endurance. The patients were divided into three groups according to SpO2 response, and their pulmonary function, blood gas, Hugh-Jone's breathlessness stage (H-J), and ADL score were recorded. For examining the effectiveness of chest physical therapy (CPT), those items were re-evaluated in 31 patients after CPT. It was found that the patients with a larger decrease in SpO2 during 6MD test showed severer pulmonary diseases and lower ADL scores. After CPT there was no difference in improvement of pulmonary function and motor endurance among the three groups. Even the patietns with a larger decrease in SpO2 during 6MD test indicated improvement in H-J and SpO2 response. However, there was a patient who showed a decrease in SpO2 after CPT, which provided us with lots of suggestions regarding a guidance for the patients. The measurement of SpO2 during 6MD can be useful for examining not only motor endurance but also severity of the disease and limiting factors for physical performance of the patients with chronic respiratory diseases.
关键词：chronic respiratory disease; 6-minutes walk distance test; oxygen saturation
