Cardiopulmonary Responses to 6-Minute Stepper Test in Bronchiectasis Versus Healthy Controls

Individuals with bronchiectasis exhibit productive cough and recurrent lung infections as well as reduced exercise capacity, physical activity level, and respiratory and peripheral muscle strength. 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is often used to assess exercise capacity in chronic lung diseases. 6MWT is recommended to be performed along a flat corridor, at least 30 m long, with low pedestrian traffic, on a hard surface. To overcome technical limitations during 6MWT, 6-minute stepper test (6MST) has been proposed to assess exercise capacity. Another test that provides information about exercise capacity is the 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1STS). To our knowledge, there is limited information about different exercise tests including 6MST and 1STS and cardiopulmonary responses to these tests in individuals with bronchiectasis. Therefore, this study aims to compare the responses to the 6MST between individuals with bronchiectasis and healthy controls and to investigate the relationships among 6MST, 6MWT, and 1STS responses and muscle strength.