Hypoxic exercise test
| Baseline | After 30 min | After exercise | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEV1 (% pred) | 100.3±15.3 | 104.2±15.3† | 99.7±15.0†† | 0.05 |
| FeNO (ppb) | 13.0–19.0–27.3 | 11.1–17.5–22.0 | 0.03 | |
| α1-AT | 1.2–1.3–1.5 | 1.3–1.4–1.6 | <0.0001 | |
| C3 | 0.9–1.0–1.2 | 1.0–1.0–1.3 | <0.0001 | |
| hs-CRP | 0.4–0.5–1.4 | 0.5–0.7–1.4 | 0.047 |
FEV1% predicted was measured at baseline, after 30 min at rest and after a maximal incremental exercise protocol under hypoxic conditions (fractional inspired oxygen 11%). FeNO, serum α1-AT, serum C3 and serum hs-CRP were measured at baseline and after exercise.
Patients (n=17) were asked to run on a treadmill starting at 6 km/h for 10 min followed by an increase of 1 km/h each 3 min until exhaustion. Paired t test (FEV1% predicted, α1-AT and C3) or Wilcoxon signed rank test (FeNO and hs-CRP) were used to compare paired data before and after the test.
p Values represent comparison of measurements after exercise compared with baseline: †p=0.48; ††p=0.04.
α1-AT, α1-antitrypsin; C3, complement factor 3; FeNO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; hs-CRP, high sensitive-C reactive protein.