Establishing the minimal clinically important difference of the 6-min walk test in lung transplant recipients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation: a prospective analysis

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Source: Frontiers Medicine

Original: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2026.1740439...

Published: 2026-01-21T00:00:00Z

The study investigated how the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) improves in lung transplant patients during pulmonary rehabilitation. 81 lung transplant recipients who completed an 8-week rehabilitation program were included in the research. The distance covered in the test improved significantly by an average of 73.37 meters. Hand grip strength increased by 7.24 to 8.21 kilograms. Changes in grip strength were strongly related to changes in test distance (correlation 0.63–0.69). The researchers determined that the minimum clinically important difference for the 6MWT is 56.83 meters, meaning that an improvement of this distance indicates a real benefit of rehabilitation. This result can help doctors better evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and plan future studies.