Walking test as clinical assessment for unmasking occult hypoxemia in COVID-19: A case series

SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) infection is a respiratory infection initially identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Some of the patients have been found to show no signs of respiratory distress; however, when oxygen saturation levels are measured, they are abnormally lower than expected in relation to their clinical condition. This is why we collected a series of cases from patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) who underwent a 2-min walking test during the initial evaluation in the emergency department. A drop in oxygen saturation below 90% was considered a positive result. Eighty-five percent of patients with a positive walking test required in-hospital management and 70% required oxygen supplementation during hospitalization. This clinical tool could help determine which of these patients might require in-hospital care due to occult hypoxemia, considering the current epidemiological situation and high bed occupancy rates.