An understanding of an individual's level of grit may be used to identify doctors at a greater risk of burnout. As a high level of grit is associated with less burnout, interventions to improve grit through resilience training should be examined. Further research is needed to understand how grit levels change during a doctor's career and why GPs experience higher levels of burnout.

Summary Prehabilitation aims to optimize a patient’s functional capacity in preparation for surgery. Esophageal cancer patients have a high incidence of sarcopenia and commonly undergo neoadjuvant therapy, which is associated with loss of muscle mass. This study examines the effects of prehabilitation on body composition during neoadjuvant therapy in esophageal cancer patients. In this cohort study, changes in body composition were compared between esophageal cancer patients who participated in prehabilitation during neoadjuvant therapy and controls who did not receive prehabilitation. Assessment of body composition was performed from CT images acquired at the time of diagnosis and after neoadjuvant therapy. Fifty-one prehabilitation patients and 28 control patients were identified. There was a significantly greater fall in skeletal muscle index (SMI) in the control group compared with the prehabilitation patients (Δ SMI mean difference = −2.2 cm2/m2, 95% CI –4.3 to −0.1, p=0.038). Within the prehabilitation cohort, there was a smaller decline in SMI in patients with ≥75% adherence to exercise in comparison to those with lower adherence (Δ SMI mean difference = −3.2, 95% CI –6.0 to −0.5, P = 0.023). A greater decrease in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was seen with increasing volumes of exercise completed during prehabilitation (P = 0.046). Loss of VAT during neoadjuvant therapy was associated with a lower risk of post-operative complications (P = 0.017). By limiting the fall in SMI and promoting VAT loss, prehabilitation may have multiple beneficial effects in patients with esophageal cancer. Multi-center, randomized studies are needed to further explore these findings.

Background Patients undergoing oesophageal cancer surgery are often frail with a high risk of post-operative complications. Prehabilitation has been shown to reduce post-operative complications in specific patient populations but evidence in oesophageal cancer patients is inconclusive. Methods Between January 2016 and April 2019, all patients with resectable oesophageal cancer who underwent curative treatment at a specialist tertiary centre participated in a personalised, home-based, multimodal prehabilitation programme. Post-operative complications and hospital stay in this group were compared to a control sample. Propensity score matching was used to control for differences in baseline characteristics. Results Seventy-two patients who completed prehabilitation and 39 control patients were studied; following propensity score matching, there were 38 subjects in each group. In comparison to matched controls, patients in the prehabilitation group had a lower incidence of post-operative pneumonia (prehabilitation = 26%; control = 66%; p = 0.001) and a shorter length of stay (prehabilitation = median 10 days, IQR 8–17 days; control = median 13 days, IQR 11–20 days; p = 0.018). On multivariate regression analysis, participation in prehabilitation was associated with a 77% lower incidence of post-operative pneumonia (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.55 p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of overall complications or severe complications. Conclusion Prehabilitation was associated with a lower incidence of post-operative pneumonia and shorter hospital length of stay following oesophagectomy. This model of home based, personalised, and supervised prehabilitation is effective and relevant to centralised cancer services.

Background Prehabilitation is thought to reduce post-operative respiratory complications by optimising fitness before surgery. This prospective, single-centre study aimed to establish the effect of pre-operative exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness in oesophageal cancer patients and characterise the effect of adherence and weekly physical activity on response to prehabilitation. Methods Patients received a personalised, home-based pre-operative exercise programme and self-reported their adherence each week. Cardiorespiratory fitness (pVO 2 max and O 2 pulse) was assessed at diagnosis, following completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and immediately before surgery. Study outcomes included changes in fitness and post-operative pneumonia. Results Sixty-seven patients with oesophageal cancer underwent prehabilitation followed by surgery between January 2016 and December 2018. Fitness was preserved during NAC and then increased prior to surgery (pV0 2 max Δ = +2.6 ml min −1 , 95% CI 1.2-4.0 p = 0.001; O 2 pulse Δ = +1.4 ml beat −1 95% CI 0.5-2.3 p = 0.001). Patients with higher baseline fitness completed more physical activity. Regression analyses found adherence was associated with improvement in fitness immediately before surgery (p = 0.048), and the amount of physical activity completed was associated with the risk of post-operative pneumonia (p = 0.035). Conclusion Pre-operative exercise can maintain cardiorespiratory fitness during NAC and facilitate an increase in fitness before surgery. Greater exercise volumes were associated with a lower risk of post-operative pneumonia, highlighting the importance progressing exercise programmes throughout prehabilitation. Patients with high baseline fitness completed more physical activity and may require less supervision to reach their exercise goals. Further research is needed to explore stratified approaches to prehabilitation.

Background: Sedentary behavior is emerging as an important field of scientific enquiry for cancer survivorship. The posttreatment period is associated with prolonged recovery, deterioration in quality of life, disability, poor mental health, and reduced productivity. Exercise in cancer survivors has been linked with reduced fatigue, improved functional outcomes, and improved survival. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a surgical cancer prehabilitation program on the long-term physical and psychological health in a cohort of patients undergoing surgery for esophagogastric cancer. Methods: The PREPARE program is a multimodal cancer prehabilitation program. All patients who underwent curative esophagogastric cancer surgery and completed the PREPARE program were included in the study. Weekly activity scores, self-efficacy, exercise testing, and hand grip strength were assessed. Results: A total of 39 patients met the eligibility criteria. At baseline, 31% of patients were active, 13% were moderately active, and 56% were insufficiently active. At follow-up, 44% of patients were active, 13% were moderately active, and 44% were insufficiently active. There was a significant increase in leisure score index (P = .048, z = −1.981), JOURNAL/reonc/04.03/01893697-202007000-00004/4FSM1/v/2023-08-24T151015Z/r/image-gif o 2max, mL.kg−1.min−1 (P ≤ .01), and hand grip strength (P ≤ .01) from baseline to follow-up. There was no change in self-efficacy through baseline to follow-up. Limitations: Improvements in the postoperative period could be expected as part of recovery. The absence of a control group makes this difficult to establish. Conclusion: Starting prehabilitation at the time of diagnosis leads to sustained confidence and improved activity and exercise levels in the posttreatment period.