TY - JOUR T1 - Weight-based reference equations for the 6-min walk test can be misleading in obese patients JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00028-2020 VL - 6 IS - 2 SP - 00028-2020 AU - Jeffrey M. Haynes AU - Gregg L. Ruppel AU - David A. Kaminsky Y1 - 2020/04/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/6/2/00028-2020.abstract N2 - A 79-year-old female presented to a hospital-based laboratory for pulmonary function testing and a 6-min walk test (6MWT). The patient's chief complaint was dyspnoea on exertion. The patient was a life-long nonsmoker with a history of interstitial lung disease and morbid obesity (body mass index (BMI) 44.9 kg·m−2). The patient's baseline spirometry data were within normal limits but the diffusing capacity was moderately reduced (50% of predicted; z-score −4.05) [1, 2].Weight-based reference equations for the 6-min walk test can produce normal results despite poor performance. Using ideal body weight- or non-weight-based reference equations for the 6-min walk test may produce more clinically meaningful results. https://bit.ly/2wE9Sdn ER -