Teste de caminhada de seis minutos em crianças e adolescentes pós-tuberculose em um hospital terciário

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the contribution of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) to the assessment of functional capacity in children and adolescents with post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD) at different time points after completion of tuberculosis treatment. Methods: This observational, descriptive case series was conducted at a pediatric university hospital and included children and adolescents diagnosed with PTLD who were followed for up to 12 months after treatment completion. The 6MWT was performed immediately after treatment completion (T0) and at 3 (T3), 6 (T6), and 12 months (T12). Functional performance on the 6MWT, subjective perception of dyspnea and fatigue assessed using the Borg scale, as well as clinical, spirometric, and radiological data were analyzed. Results: At the end of treatment, most patients showed normal functional performance on the 6MWT, although a subset presented functional limitation associated with respiratory symptoms. A progressive reduction in the number of patients with abnormal 6MWT results was observed over follow-up, with normalization of functional performance among patients evaluated at 12 months. Changes in 6MWT performance occurred concomitantly with dyspnea reported in the clinical symptom questionnaire; however, this pattern was not consistently reproduced when dyspnea and fatigue were assessed using the Borg scale. Discussion: These findings support the usefulness of the 6MWT for functional assessment and longitudinal follow-up of children and adolescents with PTLD, highlighting the relevance of integrating objective and subjective measures when evaluating functional impairment in the pediatric population.