The VE:V02 ratio is considered to be an overall index of the economy of ventilation during exercise. 17 In the current study, there was no significant difference between the quadriplegics and paraplegics for this variable, suggesting that the ventilatory requirements for a unit of oxygen consumption was not dependent on the lesion level. This concurs with the findings of Coutts et al 4 and Van Loan et aI, 7 but disagrees with the results of Eriksson et al,5 who reported that the mean VE : V02 ratio during maximal wheelchair exercise was significantly higher in quadriplegics than in paraplegics. While
this aspect of ventilation seems to be controversial in the SCI population, it should be noted that the paraplegics seemed to beventilating more efficiently than the quadriplegics, because they attained their significantly higher VE as a result of a larger tidal volume while the breathing frequency was the same between the two groups (Table I). A similar pattern in the ventilatory responses during maximal arm cranking exercise in quadriplegics and paraplegics has also been reported by Van Loan et al. 7