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CompletedNCT03095859PIRATEUpdated Jul 9, 2020

Post-operative, Inpatient Rehabilitation After Lung Transplant Evaluation

An interventional study of Physical rehabilitation. in Lung Transplant and Rehabilitation, sponsored by The Alfred. Completed at 1 site in Australia. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-07-09.

Sponsored by The Alfred · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This randomized, feasibility trial (n=40) will compare the effects of an intensive, twice daily inpatient physical rehabilitation program against standard care (once daily) following double lung transplantation.

Read the detailed description

This trial will involve the participation of patients post lung transplantation, in the initial post-operative period. Recruitment will take place as soon as the patient is medically safe and willing to commence physical rehabilitation within the intensive care unit. Current, standard care for inpatient physical rehabilitation post lung transplant involves a once daily session of physiotherapy for the duration of the patient's initial inpatient stay, and consists of early mobility, aerobic exercise, upper and lower limb strengthening and flexibility or core muscle re-training.

This trial aims to assess the feasibility and safety of twice daily physical rehabilitation sessions during the post-operative period following lung transplantation. The content of the additional physical rehabilitation session will not differ from, but will complement current standard care, and will be delivered by a trained research assistant or physiotherapist. To the investigator's knowledge, there is no current evidence to support the dosage and intensity of inpatient physical rehabilitation following lung transplantation, and it is unsatisfactory to use evidence from other patient groups to guide practice in this area.

To assess the feasibility of an intensive, inpatient physical rehabilitation program post lung transplantation, the investigators will collect the following data: Number of patients eligible for study inclusion; number of patients consented; number of additional, intensive physical rehabilitation sessions completed; reasons for non-completion of sessions; and attrition, or patient withdrawal rate. In order to assess the safety of the program, the investigators will also assess for evidence of early, acute rejection of the transplanted lungs based on the routine collection of tissue samples, and adverse events. Adverse events will be defined as any event likely caused by acute physical rehabilitation, including musculoskeletal injury, patient fall and surgical wound breakdown.

These assessments will be complemented by a number of physical and psychological outcome measures and patient statistics, including tests of physical capacity, participation and strength, quality of life, requirements for additional physical rehabilitation and/or hospital readmissions within 10 weeks of study commencement, discharge destination and patient length of stay data. Assessments will be completed within 3 days of first time to mobilize, after three weeks and finally after 10 weeks post-transplant.

The investigators hypothesise that an intensive, physical rehabilitation program will be safe and feasible to implement in the post-operative phase post lung transplantation, and that participants in the intensive rehabilitation group will be more active at 10 days, and at 10 weeks than those receiving standard, post lung transplant physical rehabilitation.

02

Conditions studied

  • Lung Transplant
  • Rehabilitation
03

In context

Lead sponsor

The Alfred is the lead sponsor of 45 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Medically stable and able to participate in physical rehabilitation as directed by the treating medical team and primary physiotherapist
  • All transplant indications will be included, including re-transplantation
  • Will include interstate patients (South Australia, Tasmania) as all patients routinely remain in Victoria attending post-transplant clinic and rehabilitation for three months post operatively

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medically unable to mobilise (e.g. cardiovascular instability)
  • Critically unwell (ECMO, CVVHDF etc.)
  • \<18 years old (paediatric lung transplant)
  • Heart-lung transplant
  • Single lung transplant (SLTx)
  • Unable to provide written informed consent
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Care provider, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Control

    Standard care (once daily physical rehabilitation, approx. 30 minutes). Standard care will consist of physical exercise, such as early mobility, endurance training, upper limb, lower limb and trunk activity. This will involve non-physical interventions including respiratory therapy, airway clearance and patient and carer education.

    Other: Physical rehabilitation.

  • Experimental
    Experimental

    Early intensive physical rehabilitation, which will consist of standard care plus one additional treatment per day. The additional early intensive physical rehabilitation session provided to the experimental group will allow for progression of aerobic, strength and flexibility exercise and / or completion of a more comprehensive physical rehabilitation program.

    Other: Physical rehabilitation.

Interventions

  • OtherPhysical rehabilitation.

    Early mobility, aerobic exercise, upper and lower limb strength and flexibility training, trunk mobility and core strengthening, inclusive of respiratory therapy and education.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Ability to deliver intensive inpatient physical rehabilitation (feasibility).

    Quantified by number of patients eligible for inclusion; number of patients consented; number of additional, intensive physical rehabilitation sessions completed during the initial, inpatient stay post operatively; reasons for non-completion of sessions; and attrition. This will be aggregated into an overall percentage of successful delivery of intervention.

    Time frame: Patient length of stay is typically two to three weeks following lung transplant surgery.

  2. Incidence of treatment and non-treatment related adverse events (safety).

    Evidence of early, acute rejection on bronchoscopic biopsy and adverse events. Adverse events will be defined as any adverse outcome during the study period, including but not limited to events that could be related to acute physical rehabilitation such as musculoskeletal injury, patient fall and surgical wound dehiscence or breakdown.

    Time frame: Patient length of stay is typically two to three weeks following lung transplant surgery.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Six-minute walk test.

    Distance walked in six minutes.

    Time frame: Pre-transplant results if available. Repeated at 3 and 10 weeks.

  2. Physical activity monitoring (Dynaport®).

    Physical activity levels.

    Time frame: 7 days (5 days of data) at post-operative day 10 and at 10 weeks.

  3. Pain visual analogue scale (VAS).

    0-10 pain score.

    Time frame: Once daily on physical activity monitoring days, from day 10 - 16 post-transplant, repeated for seven days at 10 weeks post-transplant.

  4. EuroQol EQ-5D-5L.

    Health-related quality of life questionnaire.

    Time frame: Baseline (within 3 days from first time to mobilise), 3 weeks and 10 weeks post-transplant.

  5. Sit to stand test - 60 second.

    Amount of sit-stands completed over 60 seconds.

    Time frame: Baseline (within 3 days from first time to mobilise), inpatient discharge (2-3 weeks), one month and three months.

  6. Grip strength.

    Hand-held dynamometer.

    Time frame: Baseline (within 3 days from first time to mobilise), 3 weeks and 10 weeks post-transplant.

  7. Modified Iowa Level of Assistance Scale (MILOA).

    A valid, reliable and responsive scale of physical capacity in the post-operative patient.

    Time frame: Baseline (within 3 days from first time to mobilise), 3 weeks and 10 weeks post-transplant.

Other outcomes

  1. Length of stay.

    Length of intensive care and total inpatient stay.

    Time frame: Until inpatient discharge, estimated between two to three weeks.

  2. Readmission rates

    Readmission rates to the acute setting for the duration of study follow-up.

    Time frame: Inpatient discharge (2-3 weeks) to 10 weeks.

  3. Discharge destination.

    Requirement for formal inpatient physical rehabilitation vs home.

    Time frame: Inpatient (acute) discharge, estimated between two to three weeks.

  4. Rejection rates.

    Evidence of any form of chronic lung allograft dysfunction / antibody mediated rejection.

    Time frame: Baseline to 10 weeks.

  5. Spirometry

    Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory ratio (FER)).

    Time frame: 10 weeks.

  6. Adherence to outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation.

    Post-transplant outpatient physical rehabilitation uptake - sessions completed.

    Time frame: Inpatient discharge (2-3 weeks) to 10 weeks.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • The Alfred
    Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Tarrant BJ, Quinn E, Robinson R, Poulsen M, Fuller L, Snell G, Thompson BR, Button BM, Holland AE. Post-operative, inpatient rehabilitation after lung transplant evaluation (PIRATE): A feasibility randomized controlled trial. Physiother Theory Pract. 2023 Jul 3;39(7):1406-1416. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2022.2041779. Epub 2022 Feb 22. PubMed 35193445 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — IPD will not be shared outside of this trial.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 9, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03095859
Lead sponsor
The Alfred
Responsible party
Benjamin Tarrant (Senior Clinician Physiotherapist - Lung Transplant, The Alfred) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 30, 2017
Start date
Feb 4, 2019
Primary completion
Mar 23, 2020
Completion
May 15, 2020
Last update
Jul 9, 2020

Study contacts

Benjamin J Tarrant, B.Physio
principal investigator · The Alfred

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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