Comparison of six-minutes walking test in children with different neuromuscular diseases and healthy children at the age of 5 to 14 years

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determinate the importance of 6MWT in children diagnosed with neuromuscular diseases. We evaluated the distances walked and the level of fatigue manifested. The data were correlated with the distances walked by healthy children at the same age. Materials and methods: Eleven children diagnosed with neuromuscular diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy   (6), congenital myopathy  (2), myasthenia gravis (2)  and SMA type 3 (1)  performed the

6-minute walk test (6ÐœWT) according to ATS statement: guidelines for the six-minute walk test. Weakness and fatigue were registered in the examined group. Collected data were correlated with the results obtained from a group of healthy children at the same age and gender. Percent-predicted distance on the 6MWT was computed from normative values to determine weakness, excluding the influence of age and height of the children on 6MWT results. Fatigue was determined by the percentage of decrement in distance walked from the first to sixth minute. Results: Fatigue was registered in 52% of all children with neuromuscular diseases. Student's t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the average distance walked from 1-6  minute by children with neuromuscular diseases compared to average distance walked by healthy children at the same age and the result was t = 6.2381 P < 0.0001 with 95% CI and DF10. Pearson's correlation coefficients showed a strong negative linear correlation (r= -0.913897 p <0.01) between fatigue and percent- predicted 6MWT distance in children with neuromuscular diseases. Conclusion: The 6-minute walk test has proven diagnostic value in newly evaluated patients suspected of having a neuromuscular disease. It has a monitoring value for follow-up of disease progression and the effectiveness of treatment.