Internal Med Medical News about systemic sclerosis;6-minute walk test

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Lack of specificity of the 6-minute walk test as an outcome measure for patients with systemic sclerosis
Journal of Rheumatology, 07/02/09

Schoindre Y et al. – Data demonstrate that the 6-min walking distance (6MWD) relates to broad factors in systemic sclerosis (SSc), raising the doubts about the specificity of this test in SSc and its relevance to monitoring therapy.

Methods

An evaluation of the relationships of 6MWD and organ damage in SSc
87 pts underwent 6MWT in addition to:
- conventional assessment of possible lung, heart, kidney, skin, and muscle involvement
- disease activity scoring, severity, and
- quality of life determination

Results

30% pts had an abnormal 6MWT and the mean 6MWD was 461.8±103.0 m
When considering 6MWT as a binary variable, normal or abnormal CRP was the only independent variable associated with abnormal 6MWT
Considered as a continuous variable, the 6MWD was associated with:
- Measures of lung involvement and inflammation
- Activity and severity of disease, and
- Quality of life
Nevertheless, calcinosis was the only independent factor associated in multivariate analyses with a trend for an association for CRP

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