- Published
- 15 December 2025
- Journal article
The safety, physiological response and repeatability of the incremental shuttle walk test in survivors of COVID-19
- Authors
-
- Source
- ERJ Open Research
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) may be a valuable tool for measuring exercise tolerance in patients after a hospital admission with COVID-19. However, the safety, physiological response and repeatability of the ISWT are unknown in this cohort. The present study aimed to explore the properties of this test using the Post-Hospital COVID-19 (PHOSP-COVID) study.
METHODS: Participants performed two ISWTs, with a 30-min rest between tests, at 5 and 12 months post-hospital discharge for COVID-19. Heart rate and fingertip peripheral oxygen saturation were recorded pre- and post-test. Reasons for test termination were noted.
RESULTS: 1593 individuals (median (interquartile range) age 58 (50-66) years and body mass index 31.2 (27.6-35.8) kg·m - 2; 967 (60.7%) males) performed an ISWT; two tests were performed by 1034 and 390 participants at the 5- and 12-month visit, respectively. At 5 months post-discharge, six patients (0.4%) had an adverse event and the most common reason contributing to test termination was breathlessness (826 (54.2%) participants). 336/1470 (22.9%) participants experienced exertional desaturation. Distance walked was greater in the second ISWT compared to the first ISWT at 5 and 12 months post-discharge (mean±sd difference: 5 months: 19±94 m; 12 months: 11±80 m; p<0.05), with an intraclass correlation coefficient estimate of 0.96 (95% CI 0.95-0.97) at 5 months and 0.97 (95% CI 0.96-0.97) at 12 months.
CONCLUSIONS: The ISWT appeared to be safe in this large cohort, supporting use of this field walking test for this population in clinical and research settings. A familiarisation test is recommended, with further study needed to determine the number of familiarisation tests required to achieve acceptable within-day repeatability.
Rights
Copyright ©The authors 2025 This version is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence 4.0.
Cite as
Baldwin, M., Daynes, E., Karsanji, U., McAuley, H., Bishop, N., Bolton, C., Man, W., Vogiatzis, I., Chalmers, J., Ho, L., Horsley, A., Marks, M., Poinasamy, K., Raman, B., Leavy, O., Richardson, M., Elneima, O., Shikotra, A., Singapuri, A., Sereno, M., Saunders, R., Harris, V., Houchen-Wolloff, L., Greening, N., Docherty, A., Quint, J., Wain, L., Brightling, C., Evans, R., Singh, S., Harrison, E. & Lone, N. 2025, 'The safety, physiological response and repeatability of the incremental shuttle walk test in survivors of COVID-19', ERJ Open Research, 11(6), article no: 00089-2025. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00089-2025