Assessment of the value of 6-min walk test to predict the severity of interstitial lung disease among Indian patients

Introduction: The prevalence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) is increasing. High-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT), despite having limitations, remains the choice of method for diagnosis and assessment of severity of ILD. Objective: To determine the efficacy of 6-min walk test to assess the severity of the ILD compared to HRCT. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done among 40 patients with ILD in a tertiary hospital in Hyderabad. The data included age, gender, smoking, HRCT, 6-min walk test, spirometry, diffusion lung capacity and medical history. Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and ROC curve were used to determine the outcomes. Results: The mean age of participants was 57.18 + 13.01 years. 62.5% never smoked. Overall, 50% had severe ILD, and the rest had mild to moderate. The distance walked per 6-min, SpO2 before and SpO2 after, was significantly lower (p = 0.001; 0.002;