Abstract
The utility of cardiac and ventilatory predictors of metabolic rate derived under temperate and heated laboratory conditions was evaluated during three fire-fighting simulations (70-mm hose drag, Hazmat recovery, bushfire hose drag; N = 16 per simulation). The limits of agreement for cardiac (temperate: − 0.54 to 1.77; heated: − 1.39 to 0.80 l min− 1) and ventilatory surrogates (temperate: − 0.19 to 1.27; heated: − 0.26 to 1.16 l min− 1) revealed an over-estimation of oxygen consumption that exceeded the acceptable limits required by occupational physiologists (N = 25; ± 0.24 l min− 1). Although ventilatory predictions offered superior precision during low-intensity work (P < 0.05), a cardiac prediction was superior during more demanding work (P < 0.05). Deriving those equations under heated conditions failed to improve precision, with the exception of the cardiac surrogate during low-intensity work (P < 0.05). These observations imply that individualised prediction curves are necessary for valid estimations of metabolic demand in the field.
Abstract
Practitioner Summary: Cardiac and ventilatory surrogates are often used to approximate the metabolic demands of work. In this study, however, such predictions demonstrated unsatisfactory agreement with simultaneously measured values across three fire-fighting simulations. Therefore, individually calibrated equations appear necessary to obtain the level of predictive precision required by occupational physiologists.
Disclosure statement
There are no conflicts of interest.
Notes
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