• Natascha Josephine Ulstrand Fuglebjerg, Tomas Oestergaard Jensen, Nils Hoyer, Camilla Koch Ryrsø, Birgitte Lindegaard, and Zitta Barrella Harboe.
• Department of Infectious Diseases and Pulmonary Medicine, Nordsjællands University Hospital, Denmark.
• Int. J. Infect. Dis. 2020 Oct 1; 99: 100-101.

ObjectiveTo assess the degree of hypoxia and subjective dyspnea elicited by a 6-minute walking test (6MWT) in COVID-19 patients prior to discharge.MethodsA 6MWT was performed in 26 discharge-ready COVID-19 patients without chronic pulmonary disease or cardiac failure. Heart rate, oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2), respiratory rate, and subjective dyspnea measured on the Borg CR-10 scale were measured before and immediately after the 6MWT, with continuous monitoring of SpO2 and heart rate during the 6MWT. The 6MWT was terminated if SpO2 dropped below 90%. A historical cohort of 204 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was used for comparison.Results13 (50%) of the COVID-19 patients developed exercise-induced hypoxia (SpO2 < 90%) during the 6MWT, of which one third had pulmonary embolism. COVID-19 patients experienced less hypoxia-related dyspnea during the 6MWT compared with patients with IPF.ConclusionThe 6MWT is a potential tool in the diagnosis of asymptomatic exercise-induced hypoxia in hospitalized COVID-19 patients prior to discharge. Due to important methodological limitations, further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to investigate their clinical consequences.Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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