Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test Using Arm Ergometry in Children With Spina Bifida: A Prediction Model for O2peak

This study aimed to develop a prediction model for peak oxygen uptake ((Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak) in children with spina bifida (SB), considering peak workload (Wpeak), peak heart rate, age, sex, anthropometric measures, walking level, physical activity level, and level of the lesion. Data of 26 participants with SB performing a graded arm crank test were used to develop the prediction model. An unrelated data set of participants with SB was used for validation. The following equation was developed to predict (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak of participants with SB: (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak (mL/min) = 194+18 × Wpeak - 110 × sex (adjusted R(2) = 0.933, SEE = 96 mL/min). Bland-Altman analysis showed a nonsignificant mean difference between the measured and predicted values of (Equation is included in full-text article.)O2peak (-0.09 L/min) and limits of agreement of -0.4036 and 0.2236 L/min. The prediction model shows promising results; however, further validation using the same protocol is warranted before implementation in clinical practice.