The effect of supplemental oxygen on 6-minute walk test in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory lung disease that associated with abnormal airflow during respiration. It has been demonstrated that supplemental oxygen used in the time of exercise testing has a considerable positive effect in cases with COPD. Objectives: Present study was aimed to investigate the possible effects of supplemental oxygen on the outcomes of 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Patients and Methods: COPD cases were randomly divided into two groups (n= 50/each). Group1; patients who received nasal oxygen during the 6MWT, and group two were patients who did not receive supplemental oxygen during the test. Results: The Shapiro-Wilk test showed that the distribution of all parameters in two groups followed the normal distribution. The total distance walked was 431.54±40.76 m in the intervention group and 399.08±49.94 m in the control group, with a significant difference between the two groups (P= 0.001). After 6MWT, the mean of SpO2 in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group (P= 0.002) and the degree of dyspnea was significantly lower than the control group (P= 0.031). Conclusion: Overall, supplemental oxygen has significant positive effects in COPD patients, but definitive commentary is needed for further studies. Trial registration: The trial protocol was approved by the Thai Clinical Trials Registry (identifier: TCTR20220122001; https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org, ethical code; IR.MUI.MED.REC. 1396.308.3).