RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: 1) To determine the frequency of use of the 6-minute walk test in pulmonary rehabilitation programs in Latin America and on the Iberian Peninsula; 2) to identify how the test is performed and possible variations from center to center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 55 pulmonary rehabilitation centers in Latin America, Portugal, and Spain. RESULTS: Forty-nine (89.1%) centers answered the questionnaire. Forty-seven (95.9%) perform a walk test lasting 6 minutes; 22 (46.8%) take the longest distance of 2 tests as the real one; and 35 (74.5%) carry out the test in a corridor. The course distance ranged from 17 to 90 meters, but in 21 (44.7%) centers, the corridor was between 17 and 30 meters long. In 29 (61.7%) centers, the patients are routinely informed about the time that had elapsed during the test. Verbal encouragement is used in 44 (93.6%) centers. Thirty-eight (80.8%) use supplemental oxygen when a patient needs it. An increase in absolute values in the distance covered is used as a parameter indicating improvement at 21 (46.7%) sites while at 15 (33.3%) other centers the percentage increase is taken as a measure of improvement. CONCLUSIONS: The 6-minute walk test is widely used for the evaluation of the exercise capacity at the pulmonary rehabilitation centers of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. However, there is great variability in the way the test is performed.