Virtual Prehabilitation for Patients Undergoing Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Overview

The time between diagnosis and operative intervention represents an untapped opportunity to optimize patient readiness for surgery and augment their function prior to undergoing a physiological stress, rather than purely recovering post-operatively. Vascular surgery patients are frail and primed to benefit from such interventions and upcoming surgery is a strong motivator for behavioral change. In this proposal, the investigators outline our vision for a prehabilitation program for patients undergoing elective open aortic aneurysm repair (AAA). Participants scheduled to undergo AAA repair would receive, in addition to standard of care, 5 main interventions: exercise therapy; smoking cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy; nutritional counseling; psychological readiness planning and patient education. Exercise therapy will consist of 6 weeks of moderate exercise coordinated remotely through the cardiology rehabilitation program, whereas all other interventions will be consultations through videoconferencing or phone interactions. Outcomes of interest include morbidity, mortality, predictors of completion of program, exercise function and quality of life. This study is a pilot feasibility project and the first step in the creation of a long-term program that will improve patient clinical outcomes, exercise capacity quality of life and hopefully become an model for prehabilitation for other institutions across the country and raise the standard of care for vascular surgery patients.

Detailed description

The time between diagnosis and operative intervention represents an untapped opportunity to optimize patient readiness for surgery and augment their function prior to undergoing a physiological stress, rather than purely recovering post-operatively. Vascular surgery patients are frail and primed to benefit from such interventions and upcoming surgery is a strong motivator for behavioral change. In this proposal, the investigators outline our vision for a prehabilitation program for patients undergoing elective open aortic aneurysm repair (AAA).

Participants scheduled to undergo AAA repair would receive, in addition to standard of care, 5 main interventions: exercise therapy; smoking cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy; nutritional counseling; psychological readiness planning and patient education. Exercise therapy will consist of 6 weeks of prescribed moderate exercise coordinated remotely through the physiotherapy. Smoking cessation will consist of motivational interview with adjunctive pharmacotherapy prescribed as required. Nutritional assessment will be remotely coordinated with a certified dietician and psychological readiness and patient education will consist of 2 1 hour sessions with a counselor. Outcomes of interest include morbidity, mortality, predictors of completion of program, exercise function and quality of life.

This study is a pilot feasibility project and the first step in the creation of a long-term program that will improve patient clinical outcomes, exercise capacity quality of life and hopefully become an model for prehabilitation for other institutions across the country and raise the standard of care for vascular surgery patients.

Interventions

• Other Prehabilitation
  Prehabilitation will consist of exercise therapy, smoking cessation, nutritional counselling, psychological intervention and patient education.
• Behavioral Exercise therapy
  Exercise therapy will consist of tailored 6-week prescribed exercise program consisting of 150-minutes of moderate-vigorous exercise weekly based on patient-to-patient resource availability (eg. neighborhood walk, body-weight exercises). It will target moderate intensity (11-13 on the Borg Rating of perceived exertion scale) and will be adjusted throughout the program as required. It will target aerobic, strength and inspiratory muscle training (IMT). Participants will receive a logbook where th
• Behavioral Smoking cessation counselling
  Smoking cessation will be provided through motivational interviewing with a counselor who will assess participant's smoking status, willingness and readiness to quit and provide prescriptions for nicotine replacement therapy in combination with non-nicotinic pharmacotherapy (Varenicline, Buprorprion) as appropriate
• Behavioral Nutritional counselling
  Nutritional counseling will be provided through consultation with a registered dietician. Participants will be educated on correct portion sizes, building a balanced plate, learning sources and importance of protein, importance of timing and spacing of meals, along with practicing mindful eating. Promotion and encouragement of dietary changes to ensure balanced intake with adequate protein, weight management, and the regulation of blood glucose will be discussed. Possible barriers to attain the
• Behavioral Psychological intervention
  Participants will receive one hourly session of psychological intervention called "surgical stress tolerance training" with a trained counselor. In this session the psychosocial specialist will address the patient's anxieties, coping strategies, and post-operative expectations, with the goal of optimizing psychological well-being and ways of coping with surgery. The importance of the patient's active participation in the preparation for surgery and healing process will also be discussed. All par
• Behavioral Patient Education
  Patient education will be provided through virtual consultations with a vascular surgery nurse practitioner. These consultations will describe to the patient their journey pre and post-operatively, what to expect and what they are likely to experience, both physically and emotionally. These consultations will also ensure participants have a support person at home available for supervision during prehabilitation and available during their recovery. Additionally, they will ensure that their home i

Primary outcome measures

• Postoperative complications measured by the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI) [Time frame: CCI will be measured from admission to 6 weeks postoperatively]

Secondary outcome measures (11)

• Change in aerobic function [Time frame: Measured at baseline, preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Physical activity [Time frame: Measured at baseline, preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Quality of life [Time frame: Measured at baseline, preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Anxiety [Time frame: Measured at baseline, preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Compliance [Time frame: Measured from baseline to preoperatively]
• ICU Length of stay [Time frame: From admission to 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Hospital length of stay [Time frame: From admission to 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Reinterventions [Time frame: From admission to 6 weeks postoperatively]
• Readmission [Time frame: at 6 weeks and at 1 year postoperatively]
• Emergency Room visits [Time frame: at 6 weeks and at 1 year postoperatively]
• Mortality [Time frame: From admission to 1 year post operatively.]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Participants older than 50 years of age awaiting elective open AAA repair with AAA diameter ≤6.9cm at the Halifax Infirmary Hospital between January 2025-December 2025. Participants must have the ability to give individual informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Participants undergoing thoracic, thoracoabdominal and/or perivisceral AAA repair.
• Participants with ruptured or symptomatic AAA.
• Participants with AAA maximal diameter ≥7cm.
• Physical inability to exercise: severe osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal or neurological impairment that precludes exercise.
• Contraindication to exercise: rest systolic blood pressure ≥ 180 mmHg and/or diastolic ≥ 100 mmHg, uncontrolled atrial or ventricular arrythmias or proven exercise induced arrhythmias, unstable angina, unstable or acute heart failure, severe symptomatic valvular stenosis, dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction or other comorbidities that imply clinical instability.
• Inability to have a support person present during exercise therapy.
• Cognitive impairment that would impede understanding of study procedures or informed consent.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

N/A

Model

Single group

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.

Identifiers

NCT: NCT06830967 · 68360

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗