Assessing ventilatory threshold in individuals with motor-complete spinal cord injury

Publication date: Available online 18 June 2018
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Jason S. Au, Arjun Sithamparapillai, Katharine D. Currie, Andrei V. Krassioukov, Maureen J. MacDonald, Audrey L. Hicks
ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility of measuring ventilatory threshold (VT) in higher-level, motor-complete spinal cord injury (SCI) using four different analysis methods based on non-invasive gas exchange.DesignObservational.SettingLaboratory testing.ParticipantsIndividuals with C4-T6 motor-complete SCI (16 paraplegia, 22 tetraplegia; American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A/B; 42±10 years of age).InterventionsNot applicable.Main OutcomeVentilatory threshold from a graded arm cycling test to volitional exhaustion using four methods: ventilatory equivalents, excess CO2, V-Slope, and combined method.ResultsVT could be identified in all individuals with paraplegia, but in only 68% of individuals with tetraplegia. Individuals without observable VT completed the graded exercise test with lower ventilatory rate, peak power output, and V̇O2peak (all P<0.05), compared to those with a detectable VT. Bland-Altman plots indicate minimal bias between methods (range: 0.01 to 0.03 L/min), with 95% limits of agreement of the difference within 0.25 L/min. Absolute V̇O2 at VT with individual methods were all correlated to peak power output (r>0.74; P<0.01) and V̇O2peak (r>0.91; P<0.01), with negligible differences between methods.ConclusionsThe assessment of VT is a feasible alternative to peak exercise testing for aerobic fitness in individuals with higher-level, motor-complete SCI, although care should be taken when interpreting VT in individuals with tetraplegia who have lower cardiorespiratory fitness and lower peak power outputs.



from Rehabilitation via xlomafota13 on Inoreader https://ift.tt/2MCBG4E
via IFTTT