Making Patients Fit for Surgery: Introducing a Four Pillar Multimodal Prehabilitation Program in Colorectal Cancer

This study investigated feasibility and safety of a prehabilitation program for colorectal cancer. Methods Multimodal prehabilitation was offered to patients eligible for participation and they were assigned to an intervention or control group by program availability. The prehabilitation program consisted of the following four interventions: in-hospital high-intensity endurance and strength training, high-protein nutrition and supplements, smoking cessation, and psychological support. Program attendance, patient satisfaction, adverse events, and functional capacity were determined. Results Fifty patients participated in this study (prehabilitation 20, control 30). Program evaluation revealed a high (90%) attendance rate and high level of patient satisfaction. No adverse events occurred. Endurance and/or strength were improved. Eighty-six percent of patients with prehabilitation recovered to their baseline functional capacity 4 weeks postoperatively, 40% in the control group (P
Source: American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation - Category: Rehabilitation Tags: Original Research Articles Source Type: research