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Not yet recruitingNCT06633614PREPARE@HOMEUpdated Oct 9, 2024

PREhabilitation of Frail Elderly PAtients Undergoing MajoR SurgEry At HOME (PREPARE-HOME) Using Smart Wearables

An interventional study of Supervised prehabilitation programme in Frailty Syndrome, sponsored by Singapore General Hospital. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 65 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-10-09.

Sponsored by Singapore General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
190
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
65 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether a prehabilitation program using wearable technology can improve physical function and postoperative outcomes in elderly patients (65 years or older) undergoing major elective non-cardiac surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does the prehabilitation program improve physical function, as measured by the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), from baseline to pre-surgery? Does the prehabilitation program reduce postoperative complications and enhance recovery? Researchers will compare participants who receive the prehabilitation program with wearable technology (intervention group) to those receiving standard preoperative care (control group) to see if the intervention results in greater improvements in physical function and postoperative outcomes.

Participants will:

Follow a personalized exercise program monitored remotely via telemedicine. Wear a Fitbit Aspire 3 device to track vital signs such as heart rate and physical activity.

Undergo assessments of physical function and quality of life before surgery.

Read the detailed description

This clinical trial aims to investigate the effectiveness of a prehabilitation program using wearable technology to improve physical function and postoperative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing major elective non-cardiac surgery. The intervention group will receive a comprehensive preoperative rehabilitation program (swSEP) that includes personalized exercise regimens monitored via telemedicine and a wearable device (Fitbit Aspire 3) to track key physiological metrics such as heart rate, physical activity, and sleep patterns. The exercise program will consist of three components: strength training, aerobic exercises, and flexibility exercises. These sessions will be conducted three times per week, with adjustments made by the physiotherapist based on the participant's progress and vital sign responses.

Participants will be monitored closely through telemedicine check-ins twice per week to ensure adherence to the exercise program, address any challenges, and make modifications to the regimen as needed. In addition, all participants will undergo baseline functional assessments, including the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), 30-second sit-to-stand test (30sSTS), handgrip strength (HGS), and maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), as well as nutritional and quality of life assessments using the MUST score and EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. These assessments will be repeated 1-3 days before surgery to evaluate any improvements in physical function.

The control group (uSEP) will receive standard preoperative care, which includes physiotherapy education and a home-based exercise booklet, but will not be provided with a wearable device or telemedicine supervision. Both groups will be monitored for postoperative outcomes, including the incidence of complications classified by the Clavien-Dindo system, hospital length of stay, ICU admissions, and hospital readmissions. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) will also be measured at multiple time points.

Exploratory analyses will include postoperative recovery and resumption of physical activity at 12 weeks post-surgery, as well as heart rate variability (HRV) data from the wearable devices to assess physiological responsiveness to the prehabilitation program and its potential predictive value for postoperative outcomes. A qualitative interview study will be conducted concurrently to explore the barriers and facilitators of home-based prehabilitation from the perspectives of both patients and healthcare providers.

02

Conditions studied

  • Frailty Syndrome

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Keywords

  • Prehabilitation
  • Home-based
  • Perioperative Science
  • Wearable Technology
03

In context

Frailty

1,199 studies on the registry are indexed under Frailty; 430 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 190 is above the median of 80 across 681 interventional studies indexed under Frailty.

Browse Frailty studies →

Lead sponsor

Singapore General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 266 studies on the registry; 57 are open to participants now.

Of its 8 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Frail elderly patients aged 65 years or older.
  • Scheduled to undergo major elective, non-cardiac surgery.
  • Anticipated surgery duration of over two hours or expected blood loss greater than 500 mL.
  • Frailty status with Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) score of 6 or higher.
  • Capacity to provide informed consent independently.
  • Available at least two weeks before surgery to participate in the prehabilitation program.
  • Ability to follow exercise instructions independently.
  • Ownership of a smartphone with Bluetooth and cellular connectivity.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe comorbidities that interfere with participation in the exercise program (e.g., unstable angina, severe aortic stenosis, or uncontrolled arrhythmias).
  • Cognitive impairments that prevent understanding or adherence to the intervention.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
190 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Control

    Participants in the control group (uSEP) will receive the standard PREPARE program provided by the hospital, which includes preoperative physiotherapy education and a home exercise booklet (Supplementary Material: Educational Materials). This unsupervised, home-based programme consists of full-body aerobic, resistance, and respiratory exercises that participants will perform independently at home. Additionally, participants with a Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (MIP) of less than 100 cmH₂O will be given an Inspiratory Muscle Trainer (IMT) to enhance respiratory function.

  • Experimental
    Intervention

    Participants in the intervention group (swSEP) will receive standard preoperative physiotherapy education in addition to a Fitbit Aspire 3 wearable device, which will track vital signs such as heart rate, physical activity, and sleep patterns. They will follow a personalised exercise program that is remotely supervised by a physiotherapist via telemedicine twice a week. The exercise regimen will consist of 20-minute sessions, at least three times per week, and will include three core components: strength training, aerobic exercise, and flexibility exercises. Strength training will involve 2-3 sets of full-body exercises, including combinations of upper body, lower body, and abdominal movements. Aerobic exercises will be performed at a minimum intensity of 40% of the participant's maximal heart rate (HRmax) for up to 20 minutes. Flexibility training will include six stretches, each held for 20 seconds and repeated twice, targeting the chest, arms, legs, and trunk.

    Device: Supervised prehabilitation programme

Interventions

  • DeviceSupervised prehabilitation programme

    Participants will receive standard preoperative physiotherapy education along with a Fitbit Aspire 3 wearable device to track vital signs such as heart rate, physical activity, and sleep patterns. They will follow a personalized exercise program, supervised remotely by a physiotherapist via telemedicine twice a week. The program will include 20-minute sessions at least three times per week, focusing on strength training, aerobic exercises (at 40% of maximal heart rate), and flexibility exercises. Progress will be monitored through vital signs and workout data, with the physiotherapists adjusting the regimen as needed. Participants with low inspiratory pressure (MIP \<100 cmH₂O) will receive an Inspiratory Muscle Trainer (IMT). Additionally, some participants may be provided with a portable cycle pedometer featuring adjustable resistance. To ensure safety, both participants and caregivers will receive a safety briefing, and a 24-hour emergency hotline.

    Also known as: swSEP

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Physical Function (6-Minute Walk Test) from baseline to before surgery.

    The primary outcome of this study will be the change in physical function from baseline to 1 to 3 pre-surgery, measured by the 6-minute walk test (6MWT).

    Time frame: baseline to 1-3 days pre-surgery.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Functional assessments

    Functional outcomes will encompass the 30-second sit-to-stand test (30sSTS) and handgrip strength (HGS) will be measured from baseline to 1-3 days before the surgery

    Time frame: Baseline to 1-3 days before the surgery

  2. Postoperative complications

    Postoperative complications will be categorised according to the ACS NSQIP postoperative complications criteria.

    Time frame: Preoperative to up to 4 weeks after surgery.

  3. Health Services outcomes

    Health services outcomes, including hospital length of stay, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, hospital readmissions, and associated healthcare costs, will also be recorded to assess the intervention\'s impact on healthcare resource utilisation. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) will be evaluated using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaires before and 8 weeks after surgery.

    Time frame: Preoperative to up to 8 weeks after surgery.

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — The participant data will be identifiable in this study, and is not passed by the ethics board to share the data.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 9, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06633614
Lead sponsor
Singapore General Hospital
Responsible party
Ke Yuhe (Associate Consultant, Singapore General Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 9, 2024
Start date
Jan 1, 2025 (estimated)
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 31, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 9, 2024

Study contacts

Yuhe Ke, MMED (ANES)
Contact
ke.yuhe@singhealth.com.sg
+65 6321 4220 ext. +65

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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