Actively preparing for major surgery by exercising and improving diet (known as “prehabilitation”) is associated with fewer complications, less time in hospital, and improved recovery and quality of life in adults, finds an analysis of clinical trials published by The BMJ.
The researchers stress that the certainty of evidence for all comparisons was generally low to very low, but they say prehabilitation based on exercise, nutrition, or exercise combined with other components, may be beneficial.
Although this review was conducted according to best practices and was based on the latest trial evidence, the researchers acknowledge several limitations and stress that the certainty of evidence for all comparisons across all outcomes was generally low to very low due to bias and the high level of variation (heterogeneity) between trials.
However, they say the results for exercise and nutritional prehabilitation were robust after excluding trials with a high risk of bias, “suggesting that prehabilitation based on exercise, nutrition, or exercise combined with other components, may benefit adults preparing for surgery and could be considered in clinical care.”
