Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Pediatrics

• Published in: Annals of the American Thoracic Society Vol. 14; no. Supplement_1; pp. S123 - S128
• Main Authors: Takken, Tim, Bongers, Bart C, van Brussel, Marco, Haapala, Eero A, Hulzebos, Erik H J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Child; Chronic Disease - rehabilitation; Disabled Persons - rehabilitation; Exercise Test; Exercise Tolerance; Humans; Oxygen Consumption; Pediatrics; Pulmonary Gas Exchange; exercise testing; children; exercise physiology; physical fitness; aerobic capacity
• ISSN: 2329-6933; 2325-6621
• DOI: 10.1513/annalsats.201611-912fr

Aerobic fitness is an important determinant of overall health. Higher aerobic fitness has been associated with many health benefits. Because myocardial ischemia is rare in children, indications for exercise testing differ in children compared with adults. Pediatric exercise testing is imperative to unravel the physiological mechanisms of reduced aerobic fitness and to evaluate intervention effects in children and adolescents with a chronic disease or disability. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing includes the measurement of respiratory gas exchange and is the gold standard for determining aerobic fitness, as well as for examining the integrated physiological responses to exercise in pediatric medicine. As the physiological responses to exercise change during growth and development, appropriate pediatric reference values are essential for an adequate interpretation of the cardiopulmonary exercise test.