Measuring Instruments
The six-minute walk test was used following the recommendations of the
American Thoracic Society (ATS) and was performed in a 30-meter
corridor, flat and completely free of obstacles13.
Before the test, patients had a rest period of at least 10 minutes.
During this period, contraindications, blood pressure data (using the
Premium Aneroid sphygmomanometer and Littmann 3M® stethoscope), pulse
oximetry (Pulse Oximeter - Rossmax®), dyspnea level (Borg Scale), heart
rate (assessed through palpation of the radial artery and counting over
a period of one minute) and respiratory (evaluation by checking the
respiratory incursion over the period of one minute). The patient was
instructed to walk as fast as possible, without running, going around
this corridor for six minutes. During the test, phrases of encouragement
were used in periods of time. At the end of the test, the examiner has
the function of quantifying the meters covered within those six minutes.
During the entire protocol, the patient was monitored and, with an
increase in systolic and / or diastolic blood pressure greater than 30%
of baseline, heart rate below 20% of baseline, peripheral oxygen
saturation <90% and increased respiratory rate above 30
forays per minute the test would be interrupted.
The Functional Independence Measurement that aims to measure what the
person really accomplishes, regardless of the diagnosis, generating
valid score for limitation or not. This scale assesses the patient’s
ability to develop body care, sphincter control, transfer and
locomotion, as well as cognitive function such as communication and
memory. A score of 1 to 7 is assigned, with the lowest value
corresponding to the patient totally dependent and the maximum value was
that patient completely independent from the functional point of view,
reaching a maximum value of 126 points when all variables were added
together14.
The Medical Research Council (MRC), evaluates peripheral muscle strength
through the ability to overcome the load of six muscle groups (shoulder
abductors, elbow flexors, wrist extensors, hip flexors, knee extensors
and ankle dorsiflexors), scoring bilaterally each group from 0 to 5,
where zero represents absence of contraction and five the patient wins
the maximum resistance imposed by the examiner. The minimum score for
this test is 0 (quadriplegia) and can reach up to 60 points (muscle
strength preserved). A value less than 48 can be suggestive of
polyneuromyopathy15.