Effectiveness of a Single Session Prehabilitation Group Therapy on Post-Operative Complications in Resectable Lung Cancer: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer death among
men and women. Surgical resection with minimal perioperative complication is most desirable for the treatment of
stage 1 and 2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The standard PR duration recommended in most studies ranged
from 4-6 weeks. However, the major challenge is the short duration of time available from the time of diagnosis
to the time of lung surgery. This prompted us to start the Prehabilitation Group Therapy session for patients
undergoing major surgical resections for lung cancer in our large tertiary cancer institute.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of single-session prehabilitation group therapy on post-
operative complications and length of hospital stay following lung cancer surgeries.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of lung cancer patients from a single tertiary cancer institute
for the period from January 2016 to July 2017. Data from 201patients who underwent lung surgeries were collected,
using the predesigned data extraction form. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 22 statistical package.
Result: Out of the 201 patients with lung cancer, 117 attended the Prehabilitation Group Therapy session. There
was no statistically significant difference found in the post-operative complications between the groups that
attended the Prehabilitation Group Therapy session and the group that did not attend the session (p = 0.52). The
medians of ICU stay days (p = 0.911) and ward stay days (p = 0.805) were the same across categories of PR status.
Conclusion: This study showed that a single session of prehabilitation group therapy did not reduce post-operative
complication following lung cancer surgeries.