Exercise capacity and activities of daily living in COPD patients with mild and higher symptom scores

<bold>Aim:</bold> Recent guidelines have suggested including stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with mild symptoms in pulmonary rehabilitation. This study aimed to compare exercise capacity and activities of daily living (ADL) in COPD patients with mild and higher symptom scores. <bold>Methods:</bold> Sixty stable COPD patients (age=60.2±9.6 years, 41 M, 19 F, FEV1=55.2±18.4%) participated in this study. Twenty-seven patients had 1≤ Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (MRC) score, and 33 had higher MRC scores. Patient characteristics were recorded. A lung function test was performed. Exercise capacity was evaluated using a six-minute walk test (6MWT). The ADL performance was assessed using the Glittre ADL test. <bold>Results:</bold> Patients with mild symptoms had a significantly higher 6MWT distance (p=0.001). Patients with mild symptoms had a lower Glittre ADL test duration than those with higher symptom scores (p=0.006). No significant difference was found in patient characteristics, FVC, FEV1, PEF, and FEF25-75% between the groups (p>0.05). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Mild symptoms lead to better exercise capacity and ADL performance in stable COPD. COPD patients with mild symptoms have different exercise capacity and ADL performance characteristics. As 6MWT, the Glittre ADL test can discriminate COPD patients with mild and higher symptom scores. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA610/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>