Six-Minute Walk Test in Evaluating Exercise Tolerance for Two Children With Congenital Tracheal Stenosis

Abstract

Some children with mild congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS) who are treated conservatively eventually develop exercise intolerance. We present the cases of two children with exertional dyspnea in mild CTS. The six-minute walk test (6MWT) was useful for pre- and postoperative evaluations of exercise capacity in these children. Case 1. A 6-year-old boy with CTS without a life-threatening event complained of exertional dyspnea while playing with other healthy friends. 6MWT showed that he was able to walk 351 m, which is significantly short for his age. He underwent tracheoplasty. His postoperative course was uneventful. 6MWT showed that he was able to walk 451 m on postoperative day (POD) 26 and 541 m after seven months. Case 2. An 8-year-old boy with CTS required ECMO owing to RSV-induced respiratory distress at three years of age. Although he had not been on mechanical ventilation since then, he had exercise intolerance at school, which affected his social life. 6MWT showed that he was able to walk a distance of 390 m, which is short for his age. He underwent tracheoplasty. His postoperative course was uneventful. His 6MWT result improved to 554 m on POD 26. There was no significant decrease in SpO₂ after walking pre- and postoperatively in both cases. The 6MWT may be safe and useful for the evaluation of exercise capacity in children with CTS.