Pella E; Boutou AK; Alexandrou ME; Bakaloudi DR; Sarridou D; Boulmpou A; Papadopoulos C; Papagianni A; Sarafidis P;
Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine [Ann Phys Rehabil Med] 2021 Oct 08, pp. 101588.
Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 08.
Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often present reduced physical activity and exercise tolerance due to factors relevant to co-existing disturbances of the cardiac, nervous and muscular systems. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is used for clinical evaluation of exercise limitation and related symptoms (i.e., dyspnea, fatigue) in several medical fields.
Objectives: This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies using CPET technology to examine cardiopulmonary reserve in individuals with versus without CKD.
Methods: Literature search involved PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases; manual search of article references and of grey literature was also performed. Observational studies and randomized trials that used CPET for patients with CKD stage 1-5 versus controls were eligible. The primary outcome was peak oxygen uptake (VO 2 peak). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of retrieved studies.
Results: From an initial 4944 literature records, we identified 29 studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria; of these, 25 studies (2,213 participants) with complete data were included in the final meta-analysis. VO 2 peak was significantly lower in CKD patients than controls without CKD [standardized mean difference (SMD) -1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.68; -1.13)]. Values were lower for CKD than non-CKD for oxygen consumption at anaerobic threshold (SMD -1.06, 95% CI -1.34; -0.79) and maximum workload [weighted mean difference (WMD) -58.26, 95% CI 74.14; -42.38]. In 3 studies, CKD patients had higher VO 2 peak than controls with heart failure without CKD (WMD 6.60, 95% CI 3.02; 10.18). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.
Conclusions: VO 2 peak and other commonly analyzed CPET variables were lower in patients with CKD than controls, which indicates reduced functional cardiopulmonary reserve in CKD. In contrast, patients with CKD performed better than controls with heart failure without CKD. Overall, rehabilitation programs should be more widely applied to individuals with CKD.