No abstract

Home‐based exercise programs may offer a less costly alternative to providing exercise pre‐transplant to a large number of patients. We describe the changes in 6‐minute walk distance (6MWD) in lung transplant candidates who participated in a home‐based exercise program and their relationship to post‐transplant outcomes. Retrospectively, we investigated 159 individuals while awaiting transplantation who performed the surgery between 2011 and 2015. Primary outcome was 6MWD at time of assessment for transplant, last test prior to transplant and one‐month post‐transplant. 6MWD decreased by 28 ± 93.9 m between the time of assessment and the last 6MWD prior to transplantation (P < .001). Forty‐one patients (25.8%) increased their 6MWD (mean + 85.8 ± 42.8 m); 72 patients (45.3%) decreased their 6MWD (mean −109.8 ± 71.2 m); and 46 patients (28.9%) had no change in 6MWD (−1.5 ± 15.7 m). There was a moderate correlation (r = .528; P < .001) between the last 6MWD prior to transplant and 6MWD post‐transplant. Change in 6MWD prior to transplant weakly correlated with length of time on mechanical ventilation (r = −.185; P = .034). When adjusted for covariates, change in 6MWD prior to transplant was not associated with length of time on mechanical ventilation, total hospital LOS, or intensive care unit LOS. The majority of the patients were able to either increase or maintain their 6MWD while participating in a home‐based pre‐habilitation program during the waiting list period. Prospective research is needed to evaluate the effects of home‐based pre‐habilitation program for lung candidates.

Background. Measures of exercise capacity, frailty, and physical function are commonly used in lung transplant candidates and recipients to evaluate their physical limitations and the effects of exercise training and to select candidates for transplantation. It is unclear how these measures are related to clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization before and after lung transplantation. The purpose of this scoping review was to describe how measures of exercise capacity, physical function, and frailty are related to pre- and posttransplant outcomes. Methods. We considered studies of any design that included performance-based tests of exercise capacity, physical function, and frailty in adult lung transplant candidates or recipients. Outcomes of interest were clinical outcomes (eg, mortality, quality of life) and healthcare utilization. Results. Seventy-two articles met the inclusion criteria. The 6-min walk test (6MWT) was shown to be related to mortality on the waiting list with different distance values as cutoffs points. There were inconsistent results regarding the relationship of the 6MWT with other clinical outcomes. Few studies have examined the relationship between the cardiopulmonary exercise test or the short physical performance battery and clinical outcomes, although some studies have shown relationship with survival posttransplant and quality of life. Few studies examined the relationship between the tests of interest and healthcare utilization‚ and the results were inconsistent. Conclusions. Except for the relationship between the 6MWT and mortality on the waiting list, there is limited evidence regarding the relationship of performance-based measures of exercise capacity, frailty, and physical function with clinical outcomes or healthcare utilization.