Peak oxygen uptake (VO 2peak) via cardiopulmonary exercise testing is considered the gold standard for testing aerobic capacity in healthy participants and people with various medical conditions. The reliability and responsiveness of cardiopulmonary exercise testing outcomes in persons with MS (PwMS) have not been extensively studied.
(1) to investigate the reliability of cardiopulmonary exercise parameters in PwMS; (2) to determine the responsiveness, in terms of the smallest detectable change (SDC), for each parameter.
Two repeated measurements of cardiopulmonary exercise outcomes were obtained, with a median time interval of 16 days.
Thirty-two PwMS suffering from subjective fatigue performed cardiopulmonary exercise tests on a cycle ergometer, to voluntary exhaustion. We calculated the reliability, in terms of the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC [2,k]; absolute agreement), and the measurement error, in terms of standard error of measurement (SEM) and SDC at individual (SDC individual) and group level (SDC group).
The ICC for VO 2peak was 0.951, with an SEM of 0.131 L∙min −1 and an SDC individual of 0.364 L∙min −1. When corrected for bodyweight, the ICC of VO 2peak was 0.933, with an SEM of 1.7 mL∙kg −1∙min −1 and in an SDC individual of 4.6 mL∙kg −1∙min −1.