Effectiveness of a Home-Based Pre-Habilitation Program for Lung Transplant Candidates - A Retrospective Chart Review

Purpose Home-based exercise programs offer an alternative way to provide exercise pre-transplant; it gives access to rehabilitation to a larger number of patients and it may be associated with lower healthcare cost. We described the changes in functional exercise capacity (6-minute walk distance (6MWD)) in lung transplant candidates who participated in a home-based exercise program and evaluated relationships between changes in functional exercise capacity pre-transplant and post-transplant variables. Methods Retrospective cohort study of 159 individuals who received a lung transplant between 2011-2015, who participated in a home-based exercise program while waiting for transplantation and had available pre-transplant data. Our primary outcome was 6MWD at 3 time points: time of assessment for transplant, last test prior to transplant and one-month post-transplant. Other variables included: age, sex, primary diagnosis, date of transplantation, body mass index (BMI), total hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) LOS and time on mechanical ventilation. Results The median LOS on the waiting list was 1.9 yrs. There was a mean decrease of 28±93.9m between the 6MWD at the time of assessment and the last 6MWD prior to transplantation (p Conclusion The majority of the patients (54.7%) were able to either increase or maintain their 6MWD by participating in a home-based pre-habilitation program while on the waiting list. These results are similar to what has been found for hospital-based programs in lung transplant candidates. *Financial support: Funded by the Canadian Society of Transplantation-Allied Health Group Research Grant (2017). Dr Massierer holds the Quebec Respiratory Health Network (RHN) Scholarship Supplement Program Award. Dr Janaudis-Ferreira holds FRQS Junior 1 career award.