Exercise training parameters (watt, duration and breaks) and TcPCO2, SpO2, HR, dyspnoea, respiratory effort and leg fatigue during cycle exercise training
| Control-group | HI-NIV group | Between-group differences HI-NIV group–CG | P value | |
| Watt, %PWR | 61±12 | 64±7 | 3 (−5 to 10) | 0.49 |
| Target duration, % pred | 91±14 | 95±15 | 4 (−8 to 16) | 0.476 |
| Breaks, n | 1.2±1.5 | 0.5±0.7 | −0.7 (−1.7 to 0.2) | 0.107 |
| Breaks, s | 159±194 | 35±54 | −124 (−243 to −3)* | 0.045 |
| TcPCO2†, mm Hg | ||||
| Pre | 52.3±5.9 | 46.9±5.6 | −5.4 (−10.1 to −0.6)* | 0.022 |
| Post | 56.1±7.0 | 49.8±5.5 | −6.3 (−11.5 to −1.0)* | 0.026 |
| Max | 58.0±6.9 | 52.3±4.9 | −5.7 (−10.7 to −0.7)* | 0.022 |
| Average | 56.1±6.4 | 50.4±4.8 | −5.7 (−10.4 to −0.9)* | 0.022 |
| SpO2†, % | ||||
| Average | 92.7±3.0 | 96.0±3.2 | 3.3 (0.7 to 5.9)* | 0.01 |
| Min | 89.6±3.9 | 93.5±5.2 | 3.9 (0.1 to 7.8)* | 0.01 |
| HR†, bpm | ||||
| Average | 101.0±10.5 | 104.6±14.1 | 3.6 (−6.6 to 13.8) | 0.475 |
| Max | 111.7±12.6 | 113.2±15.9 | 1.5 (−10.3 to 13.3) | 0.8 |
| Dyspnoea‡, pts | 5.9±1.7 | 2.7±1.6 | −3.2 (−4.6 to −1.9)* | <0.001 |
| Respiratory effort‡, pts | 5.8±1.7 | 3.0±1.5 | −2.8 (−4.1 to −1.5)* | <0.001 |
| Leg fatigue‡, pts | 3.9±1.8 | 4.5±1.2 | 0.6 (−0.7 to 1.8) | 0.511 |
*Significant between-group difference.
†Data are the average weekly measures of TcPCO2, SpO2 and HR which was continuously measured during the session.
‡Data are the mean±SD of each training session for all participants in the control-group or HI-NIV group.
CG, control-group; HI-NIV, high-intensity nocturnal non-invasive ventilation; HR, heart rate; SpO2, oxygen saturation; TcPCO2, transcutaneous carbon dioxide.