CARDIAC PRE-HAB

The development and evaluation of two Prehab interventions for patients undergoing elective and urgent heart surgery CARDIAC PRE-HAB 

Summary

Aim of the research Prehabilitation (Prehab) is a structured programme of exercise, dietary and psychological support administered before surgery. It may speed recovery, improve quality of life and keep people out of hospital after their operation. We want to design and test two Prehab interventions for people awaiting heart surgery. The first is for people who are having urgent surgery, where they stay in hospital for about 11 days before their operation. The second is for people who are having elective surgery, where they stay at home while they wait for surgery (about 2 months). Background to the research Over 32,000 people have heart operations every year in the UK. Many of these people are unfit, so they recover more slowly and may have a worse quality of life. We want to determine whether Prehab can improve quality of life and keep people out of hospital after their operation. Design and Methods Our research is in 5 work packages (WP). WP1. We will interview people awaiting surgery, healthcare professionals and those who have set up Prehab programmes in other surgical specialties to understand their views of Prehab. WP2. We will assemble 4 panels of experts - patients, Prehab experts, NHS staff and a group to ensure Prehab can be delivered in the NHS. These groups will design the two Prehab interventions. We will conduct more interviews with people awaiting surgery and healthcare professionals to aid this. WP3. We will conduct a study to test how feasible it is to administer the two Prehab interventions in a group of 60 people (urgent and elective). We will interview some of them and ask them what they think of Prehab. We will collect information about how many people we recruit and whether they follow their Prehab programme. WP4. We will conduct a randomised controlled trial in people having elective surgery only. We will recruit 982 participants who will be allocated by chance to receive Prehab or no Prehab. We will measure their quality of life after surgery and how many days they have been out of hospital by 3 months. WP5. We will work with our expert panels and other NHS staff to develop a way that Prehab can be rolled-out across the NHS. Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) This research was designed with the PPIE group brought together during our Programme Development Grant. They decided how we should design the Prehab intervention, what needed measuring in the main study, and at which timepoint. They identified what is needed to make Prehab acceptable, feasible and engaging for patients. Dissemination We will publish our work in journals and present it at scientific meetings and to other patient groups.

Further Information

https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR207502