Benefits of Exercise Program in Pediatric HSCT

Phoenix Children's Hospital

Status: Completed

Conditions: Transplantation; Exercise

Treatments: Other: Exercise program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04663503

IRB-16-127

Details and patient eligibility

About

Deconditioning is a common adverse effect of short and long-term immobilization. For months pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients can be quarantined while hospitalized, much of which time is spent immobilized putting these patients at a higher risk for loss of muscle strength, functionality, endurance, and quality of life. Phoenix Children's Hospital is conducting approximately forty (40) transplants per year. Adult studies have shown that exercise as an effective counter measure to deconditioning in stem cell transplant patients. However, there is a knowledge gap in pediatric HSCT. Thus this study is being conducted to determine if there is a correlation between intra-hospital exercise and improved functionality, mobility, strength, and quality of life. To achieve these aims investigators will perform a randomized control study. The investigators will aim to recruit 40 patients, 20 in each arm, ages 4-21 at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Each participant will receive baseline measures by a physical therapist; for functionality using (WeeFIM), muscle strength using manual muscle testing (MMT), endurance using the 6-minute walk test, and quality of life using the NIH PROMIS measures. Measurements will be taken again at discharge and 6-weeks post-discharge. During hospital admittance the intervention group will perform exercise routines 3 times weekly while the control group will be treated per standard of care with no exercise intervention. Patients recruited must be receiving first HSCT. A full explanation of the study and possible benefits will be given to the patients and their families upon consent. Primary outcomes will look at endurance, functionality and muscle strength. Secondary outcomes will include QoL and amount of achievable "time out of bed".

Full description

Despite growing numbers of publications describing the effects of these exercise modalities in adult HSCT patients, only limited attention has been paid to this effective supportive therapy in children. Only five publications describe the effectiveness of exercise training in pediatric HSCT. San Juan et al. showed beneficial effects on functional performance, muscle strength, and Qol scores in a study of children (aged 8-16) undergoing a supervised exercise program that included resistance and aerobic exercises for 3 weeks after HSCT. In another study, the moderate intensity exercise program implemented to children undergoing allogeneic HSCT for 3 weeks during hospitalization showed positive effects on body mass and body mass index (BMI), and no negative effect on immune cell recovery. It was found that a structured physical activity program has positive effects on Qol and fatigue scores in children undergoing peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Yildez et al. showed improvement in areas such as functional performance, muscle strength, functional mobility. Marchese et al. showed an improvement in knee extension strength and ankle dorsiflexion range of motion.This study will implement an exercise program that is personalized to hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients designed to prevent a decline in function/independence. Investigators will accomplish this by conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will examine the effect of an 8-12 week personalized exercise program compared to standard care following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Data from this study should increase understanding of the effect of exercise in this population on QoL, functional ability, endurance, muscle strength, and fatigue.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 4 to 21 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Subjects age 4-21 years
• Admitted for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with any preexisting need for gait assistance such as crutches, wheelchair, braces, or walker
• Previous Stem Cell Transplant in the last 6 months
• Patients with grade 3 or greater sensory/motor neuropathy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention arm -Exercise Program

Experimental group

Description:

This structured exercise program will incorporate a specially designed, low intensity, resistance based exercise regime created by our physical therapist. It consists of strengthening, endurance, stretching and relaxation exercises tailored according to age and their ability to perform activities throughout their hospitalization (Appendix 3). This exercise program will be done three times a week for 30-45 mins supervised by the same physiotherapist throughout hospitalization and will be self-administered every weekend. A home exercise program printout with the appropriate resistance exercises will be provided to the family upon discharge, with instructions on how often to complete throughout the week. Discharged children will attend one supervised exercise session per week with the physiotherapist for six weeks. The family and patient will also be provided a weekly sheet to check off the days they completed strengthening and endurance exercises.

Treatment:

Other: Exercise program

Control arm- No intervention

No Intervention group

Description:

The second arm of the study involves patients following standard of care during the HSCT period in the hospital with PT evaluation and management prescribed as needed by their transplant medical team including any additional PT interventions as a result of clinical indications. No additional intervention is incorporated in this group