An audit of the effectiveness of a prehabilitation programme in patients having surgery for cancer

Abstract Introduction Three prehabilitation programmes for patients undergoing surgery for cancer, based around initial physical activity scores, commenced April 2022. An audit of key outcomes was undertaken on patients enrolled onto the main programmes. Methods Patients with cancer requiring surgery were initially assessed (April to Oct 2022) and offered 2-3 sessions per week at one of: a community-based gym with registered trainers, a hospital-based gym, or a programme to train at home. Here we report physical activity scores and incremental shuttle walk test at the beginning and end of the programme, in addition to the hospital length of stay (LoS). Results The mean (±sem) physical activity score for hospital gym patients (54.4±18.3, n=23) was significantly lower (p<0.001) than for those attending the community gym (180.5±26.5 n=47), but both groups showed a significant improvement (p<0.001) at the end of the programme (216.7±18.3 and 362.0±31.0, respectively). The initial mean (±sem) incremental shuttle walk test score for the hospital gym patients (126.5±19.8, n=17) was significantly lower than for those attending community gyms (415.6±30.1, n=34), but only those at the latter (487.1±29.1) managed a significant increase (p<0.001). Thirty-seven patients requiring colon surgery completed the prehabilitation programme. The median (IQR) LoS [5.2 (3.4-7.3) days] was significantly lower for these patients (p<0.05) compared with those at NUH who did not enter the programme [5.6 days (4.3-8.2) n=567]. Conclusion The prehabilitation programme increased physical activity for both normal and frail patients with cancer prior to surgery and this was associated with a reduction in LoS.