Impact of prehabilitation on objectively measured physical activity levels in elective surgery patients: a systematic review

Wagnild, Janelle M; Akowuah, Enoch; Maier, Rebecca H; Hancock, Helen C; Kasim, Adetayo

Abstract

Objective: To systematically review the impact of prehabilitation on objectively measured physical activity (PA) levels in elective surgery patients. Data sources: Articles published in Web of Science Core Collections, PubMed, Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOHost), PsycInfo (EBSCOHost) and CENTRAL through August 2020. Study selection: Studies that met the following criteria: (1) written in English, (2) quantitatively described the effect(s) of a PA intervention among elective surgery patients prior to surgery and (3) used and reported objective measures of PA in the study. Data extraction and synthesis: Participant characteristics, intervention details, PA measurement, and clinical and health-related outcomes were extracted. Risk of bias was assessed following the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity, therefore narrative synthesis was used. Results: 6533 unique articles were identified in the search; 21 articles (based on 15 trials) were included in the review. There was little evidence to suggest that prehabilitation is associated with increases in objectively measured PA, but this may be due to insufficient statistical power as most (n=8) trials included in the review were small feasibility/pilot studies. Where studies tested associations between objectively measured PA during the intervention period and health-related outcomes, significant beneficial associations were reported. Limitations in the evidence base precluded any assessment via meta-regression of the association between objectively measured PA and clinical or health-related outcomes. Conclusions: Additional large-scale studies are needed, with clear and consistent reporting of objective measures including accelerometry variables and outcome variables, to improve our understanding of the impact of changes in PA prior to surgery on surgical and health-related outcomes.

Citation

Wagnild, J. M., Akowuah, E., Maier, R. H., Hancock, H. C., & Kasim, A. (2021). Impact of prehabilitation on objectively measured physical activity levels in elective surgery patients: a systematic review. BMJ Open, 11(9), Article e049202. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049202

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 18, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 7, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 28, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 28, 2021
• Journal: BMJ Open
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-6055
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 9
• Article Number: e049202
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049202
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1229683