Our understanding of the mechanisms of dyspnoea in fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD) is incomplete. The aims of this study were two-fold: 1) to determine whether dyspnoea intensity is better predicted by neural respiratory drive (NRD) or neuromechanical uncoupling (NMU) of the respiratory system in fibrotic ILD, and 2) to examine the effect of breathing 60% oxygen on NRD, NMU and dyspnoea ratings.Fourteen patients with fibrotic ILD were included. Visit 1 comprised a familiarisation incremental cycle exercise test, Visit 2 comprised a normoxic incremental cycling test to address Aim 1, and Visits 3 and 4 consisted of constant-load cycling while breathing room air or 60% oxygen to address Aim 2. Diaphragmatic electromyography (EMGdi) was used as a surrogate of NRD. NMU was calculated as the ratio between EMGdi (%max) and tidal volume (%vital capacity).On adjusted analysis, NMU and its constituents were all significantly associated with dyspnoea ratings during incremental cycling, with EMGdi having the strongest correlation. The between-treatment change in dyspnoea ratings during constant load cycling was only correlated with change in exercise endurance time and NMU.Dyspnoea more strongly reflected the level of EMGdi than NMU in fibrotic ILD. However, the improvement in dyspnoea with 60% oxygen was better predicted by improvements in NMU.
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