Table 5.
Technical and methodological issues in pediatric exercise testing that require harmonization
| Technical/Methodological concern | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Testing modality | Treadmill vs. cycle ergometer |
| Testing protocol | Ramp, incremental, submaximal, Bruce, Wingate, etc. Rate of work rate increase. |
| Pre‐ and postexercise protocols and measurements | Warm‐up, 0‐watt pedaling |
| Testing equipment | Metabolic carts with different apparati for measurement and analysis of expired gases |
| Data acquisition and processing | Breath‐by‐breath, mixing chamber, n second averaging, moving averaging |
| Determination of VO2peak | Criteria for max effort: HR, RER |
| Expression of VO2peak units | mL/min, mL/kg/min, mL/kgLBM/min, mL/kgFFM/min,% predicted, mL/htb (where b is an allometric power function such as 2/3 or 3/4) |
| Criteria for maximal effort | Perceived exertion, subjective assessment |
| Calibration procedures | Metabolic cart, treadmill, ergometer, calibration of work rate |