Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Non-invasive ventilation during arm exercise and ground walking in patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure.
People with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure (HRF) often have a ventilatory limitation to exercise with difficulty performing activities of daily living. Although non-invasive ventilation (NIV) appears to reduce the ventilatory limitation and improve exercise performance in people with severe COPD, the effect of NIV during functional activities such as unsupported arm exercise (UAE) and ground walking in people with chronic HRF is unclear. ⋯ NIV during UAE increased endurance time and reduced dyspnoea compared with exercise without NIV in patients with chronic HRF. Investigation of the role of NIV as an adjunct to UAE training is warranted. In contrast, NIV during ground walking did not improve exercise capacity. However, the pressure support provided may have been inadequate as dyspnoea was not reduced.