Use of Wearable Activity Tracker in Elderly Undergoing Abdominal Surgery

July 30, 2017 updated by: Dr Wong Koh Ging, University of Malaya

Use of Wearable Activity Tracker to Monitor and Increase Mobility for Elderly Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Control Trial

Early mobilization is an important element in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS). It reduces risk of conditions which are related to prolonged bed rest such as deep vein thrombosis, lung atelectasis, pneumonia, and sacral sore. (Appelboom, Taylor et al. 2015) It is also associated with shortened length of hospital stay, improved survival, and reduction in health care cost.

However, "early mobilization" was not defined consistently in previous study. Some authors recommend patients to get out of bed and ambulate on the day of operation while others define as getting out of bed more than 2 hours on day of operation and up to 8 hours on second post-operative day. (Wolk, Meissner et al. 2017) The inconsistency in definition is partly due to the inability to quantify patients' mobility which is usually self-reported by patients and is subjective.(Eva van der Meij 2017) This is especially true for elderly patient in whom preoperative mobility varies significantly between individuals. For this reason, the approach of early mobilization in elderly should be goal directed and individualized according to their preoperative mobility and functional status.

The aim of current study is to monitor and motivate elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery to increase postoperative mobilization by using Fitbit Zip activity tracker.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Unknown

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This is a randomized, controlled, single center trial comparing the use of activity tracker with and without automatic feedback in improving postoperative mobility of elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

Selected subjects will be randomized into treatment and control groups in a ratio of 1:1.

Patients will be randomized upon enrollment using computer generated random assignment. Treatment group will be put on activity tracker device (Fitbit Zip) with automatic step counts feedback throughout the study. Meanwhile, control group will be put on same activity tracker without automatic feedback for same duration of intervention. The Fitbit Zip tracker (Fitbit Inc, San Francisco, California USA) is a validated commercially available activity tracker and its use has been proven accurate in elderly patients.

Subjects from both treatment and control group will be put on wristband starting from one week before the scheduled operation until 7 post-operative days. Patients will be instructed to wear the wristband continuously 24 hours per day except during water based activity. The treatment group will receive normal wristband with indicator showing steps count, distance, and calories. Meanwhile, the control group will receive Fitbit Zip with a display covered with adhesive tape and will not receive automatic feedback on the mobility from the device.

At the end of the intervention, all the data will be retrieved from the Fitbit Zip via Fitbit Connect software 2.0. On top of that, data on patients' demographic, types of operation, operative findings, length of hospital stay and postoperative complication will also be recorded in case report form.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Malaysia
    • Sarawak
      • Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, 93586
        • Recruiting
        • Sarawak General Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult age >60 years old
  • Patients electively scheduled for abdominal surgery includes upper gastro-intestinal surgery (subtotal gastrectomy, partial gastrectomy), colorectal surgery (hemicolectomy, anterior resection, sigmoidectomy, abdominal perineal resection), and hepatobiliary surgery ( pancreatectomy, cholecystectomy, hepatectomy)
  • Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cognitive impairment
  • Neurological deficit which requires assistance in mobilization (e.g stroke, post limb amputation)
  • Emergency surgery
  • Prolonged ventilation >24 hours
  • Prolonged stay in ICU >48 hours
  • Lack of compliance to wearing wrist band
  • Allergic to wristband

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment Group
Treatment group will receive intervention by putting on Fitbit Zip activity tracker with automatic step counts feedback throughout the study.
Device: Fitbit Zip Activity Tracker
Subjects from both treatment and control group will be put on wristband starting from one week before the scheduled operation until 7 post-operative days. Patients will be instructed to wear the wristband continuously 24 hours per day except during water based activity. The treatment group will receive normal wristband with indicator showing steps count, distance, and calories. Meanwhile, the control group will receive Fitbit Zip with a display covered with adhesive tape and will not receive automatic feedback on the mobility from the device.
Sham Comparator: Control Group
Control group will be put on intervention with same Fitbit Zip activity tracker but without automatic feedback for same duration of intervention.
Device: Fitbit Zip Activity Tracker
Subjects from both treatment and control group will be put on wristband starting from one week before the scheduled operation until 7 post-operative days. Patients will be instructed to wear the wristband continuously 24 hours per day except during water based activity. The treatment group will receive normal wristband with indicator showing steps count, distance, and calories. Meanwhile, the control group will receive Fitbit Zip with a display covered with adhesive tape and will not receive automatic feedback on the mobility from the device.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative mobility measured by mean step counts
Time Frame: 14 days
Comparing mean step counts between treatment and control group
14 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percent change in postoperative mobility
Time Frame: 14 days
Percentage of step counts achieved by subject post-operatively is compared with subject's baseline step counts
14 days
Effect of activity tracker with automatic feedback on length of hospital stay
Time Frame: up to one month
Compare the length of hospital stay between the treatment group and control group
up to one month
Number of patients with post operative complications
Time Frame: up to one month
Rate of complications related to immobilisation (deep vein thrombosis, atelectasis, pneumonia, decubitus ulcer, pulmonary embolism, bedsore) are compared between treatment and control group
up to one month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Malaya

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Wong Koh Ging, MD, University Malaya

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2018

Study Completion (Anticipated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 27, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 5, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 1, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 30, 2017

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 36100

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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