Effectiveness of a Preoperative Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program in Patients Awaiting Lung Resection

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to establish the effectiveness of a preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation program in patients awaiting lung resection for lung cancer by Video-assisted thoracic surgery in order to improve exercise tolerance and quality of life. The investigators hypothesized that a pulmonary rehabilitation program including both endurance and strength training may improve exercise tolerance and quality of life measured with a submaximal exercise test and a quality of life questionnaire respectively.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Diagnosis confirmed or suspected of lung cancer (either primary or metastatic)
Be on the waiting list for lung resection by Video-assisted thoracic surgery
Present at least one of the next conditions: Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1)<80% of predicted and/or Body Mass Index > 30 or/and >80 years old and/or two or more comorbidities (Arterial Hypertension, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Coronary Disease, Diabetes, Renal Failure and/or cancer.
No smoking at the time of recruitment
Signed Informed Consent

Exclusion Criteria

Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy in the previous 6 months before the Rehabilitation program.
Thoracotomies or pneumonectomies.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Exercise Tolerance	Exercise tolerance 3 months after surgery	Maximum time sustained (in seconds) during the constant-load cycle endurance test performed at 80% of the maximal workload achieved measured three months after hospital discharge in comparison with the control group.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Lower Body Strength	3 months post-surgery	Lower body strength measured with the sit-to-stand Test. The test consist of counting the number of full stands from a chair that can be completed in 30 seconds with arms folded across chest.
Upper Body Strength	3 months post-surgery	Upper body strength measured with the Arm-Curl Test of the Senior Fitness Test. The test measures the number of curl-arm movements with a 2.27kg or a 3.61 kg dumbbell for women and men respectively during 30 seconds.
Health-Related Quality of Life	Quality of life post-surgery	Health-Related Quality of Life measured with the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey Version 2 (SF-36) three months post-surgery. This scale is scored on a 0 - 100 scale, with higher scores referring to a better health-related quality of life. The scale compromises 8 subscales and two summaries (physial and mental).