Randomized Control Trial on the Impact of Exercise on Quality of Life and Functional Capacity in HCT Patients

Abstract

<h3>Introduction</h3> The current study investigated the impact of an individualized exercise prescription on physical function, muscle strength and QoL in patients and compare it to general exercise and to exercise at liberty. <h3>Patients & Methods</h3> This was a prospective study comparing three groups: Individualized Exercise Prescription (IEP) group, General Exercise (GE) group and exercise at liberty or No Exercise (NE) group. A total of 22 patients were recruited for the study according to strict the inclusion and exclusion criteria. <h3>Intervention: During the in-patient stay</h3> The NE group received education about keeping active, the patients GE group were given a blanket exercise prescription and lastly, the IEP group were prescribed individualized exercise program based on their pre-transplant scores. <h3>Outpatient rehabilitation</h3> The GEG and CG groups were provided with instructions on activities and asked to keep a daily exercise record. The IEP group was divided into two groups, group A) Supervised out-patient rehab group (8 weeks) and B) Home exercise group. <h3>Results</h3> The preliminary results of the trial are presented. Demographic and medical characteristics of study participants are described in Table 1. The upper and lower limb scores had some differences between the groups. The EQ-5D-5L scale (Table. 2) in the IEP group showed significant differences from baseline to 6 months post-HCT. <h3>Conclusions</h3> An individualized prescription plan has the propensity to positively affect the QoL of HCT patients however these results are only preliminary and the trial data is still accumulating thereby definitive conclusions cannot be made based on early results.