Using the 6-min walk test to assess the clinical response to mepolizumab and conventional therapy in severe eosinophilic asthma

Background Severe asthma limits exercise to avoid respiratory symptoms. The objective of the present study was to investigate the role of the 6-min walk test (6MWT) in severe asthma. Methods Consecutive patients with severe eosinophilic asthma were enrolled. A 6MWT was performed before and after 12 months. Inhaled therapy dose, oral corticosteroids dose, pulmonary function tests, eosinophil blood count, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), Asthma Control Test (ACT) score and responses to the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) were also recorded. Results Of the 22 patients enrolled, 13 were treated with mepolizumab 100 mg every 4 weeks in addition to conventional therapy and nine with conventional therapy only. The majority of the patients were treated with high-dose inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β-agonists/long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists, while approximately half were on continuous oral corticosteroids. After 12 months, the mepolizumab group only showed a significant improvement in pulmonary function tests (percentage forced expiratory volume in 1 s and percentage forced expiratory flow at 25–75% forced vital capacity (FEF25–75%), both p<0.001; percentage forced vital capacity, p<0.01) and clinical laboratory parameters (eosinophil count, FeNO measured at a flow rate of 50 mL·s−1, ACT and AQLQ, p<0.001). No significant changes in the proportion of patients using continuous oral corticosteroids and high-dose inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β-agonists/long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists were observed in either group (p>0.05). By paired comparisons, statistically significant improvements of the mean 6-min walk distance (6MWD) were observed in the mepolizumab (p<0.001) and conventional therapy (p<0.01) groups, while no improvement was seen in dyspnoea Borg scale, heart rate, percentage oxygen saturation or systolic and diastolic blood pressure. 6MWD showed significant direct correlations with ACT (r=0.5998, p<0.001), AQLQ (r=0.3978, p=0.009) and FEF25–75% (r=0.3589, p=0.017). Conclusions The 6MWT could complement severe asthma assessment and be relevant in evaluating the objective response to treatment, including biological therapies like mepolizumab.