Zusammenfassung

Rosimeire Marcos Felisberto,1 Cassia Fabiane de Barros,1 Kelly Cristina Albanezi Nucci,1 Andre Luis Pereira de Albuquerque,1 Elaine Paulin,2 Christina May Moran de Brito,1 Wellington Pereira Yamaguti1 1Hospital Sírio-Libanês, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; 2Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil Background: The 6-minute pegboard and ring test (6-PBRT) is a useful test for assessing the functional capacity of upper limbs in patients with stable COPD. Although 6-PBRT has been validated in stable patients, the possibility of a high floor effect could compromise the validity of the test in the hospital setting. The aim of this study was to verify the convergent validity of 6-PBRT in hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital. Patients who were hospitalized due to AECOPD and healthy elderly participants, voluntarily recruited from the community, were considered for inclusion. All participants underwent a 6-PBRT. Isokinetic evaluation to measure the strength and endurance of elbow flexors and extensors, handgrip strength (HGS), spirometry testing, the modified Pulmonary Functional Status Dyspnea Questionnaire (PFSDQ-M), the COPD assessment test (CAT), and symptoms of dyspnea and fatigue were all measured as comparisons for convergent validity. Good convergent validity was considered if >75% of these hypotheses could be confirmed (correlation coefficient>0.50). Results: A total of 17 patients with AECOPD (70.9±5.1years and forced expiratory volume in 1second [FEV1] of 41.8%±17.9% of predicted) and 11 healthy elderly subjects were included. The HGS showed a significant strong correlation with 6-PBRT performance (r=0.70; p=0.002). The performance in 6-PBRT presented a significant moderate correlation with elbow flexor torque peak (r=0.52; p=0.03) and elbow extensor torque peak (r=0.61; p=0.01). The total muscular work of the 15 isokinetic contractions of the elbow flexor and extensor muscles ...