Paap, Davy; Takken, Tim.
Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy, December 2014, Vol. 12 Issue: Number 12 p1439-1453, 15p

Abstract: Reference values (RV) for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) provide the comparative basis for answering
important questions concerning the normality of exercise response in
patients and significantly impacts the clinical decision-making
process. The aim of this study is to systematically review the
literature on RV for CPET in healthy adults. A secondary aim is to make
appropriate recommendations for the practical use of RV for CPET.
Systematic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE and PEDro databases up to March
2014 were performed. In the last 30 years, 35 studies with CPET RV were
published. There is no single set of ideal RV; characteristics of each
population are too diverse to pool the data in a single equation.
Therefore, each exercise laboratory must select appropriate sets of RV
that best reflect the characteristics of the population/patient tested,
and equipment and methodology utilized.