Walking After Surgery to Improve Recovery and Outcomes After Surgery, AIRTECH Study (AIRTECH)

April 13, 2026 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Ambulation to Improve Recovery With Wearable TECHnology (AIRTECH) Study

This clinical trial evaluates the relationship between walking and sleeping habits and surgical outcomes in patients with lung cancer. Early walking after surgery is associated with decreased or less severe complications. Learning about how much patients walk may be important in improving outcomes after surgery. Information gained from this trial may help researchers develop interventions to improve outcomes after surgery and improve overall quality of life after surgery in patients with lung cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. Estimate the difference between each Fitbit arm and a control arm in Clavien-Dindo Combined Postoperative Morbidity (POM) Score in the 30-day postoperative period.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. For patients in Fitbit only arm (F0) and Fitbit integration arm (FB), evaluate the differences in steps regained at each postoperative day.

II. Quality of life before and after surgery using MD Anderson Symptom Inventory - Lung Cancer (MDASI-LC).

III. Hospital length of stay. IV. Hospital readmission rate within 30 days for lung surgery related events. V. Return of bowel function. VI. Postoperative complications and step numbers. VII. Fitbit user experience in the FB arm.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. Sleep disturbances. II. Cost analysis.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive usual care consisting of the clinician educating the patient on the importance of increasing exercise activity in the preoperative period and early ambulation in the postoperative setting.

ARM II: Patients receive usual care consisting of the clinician educating the patient on the importance of increasing exercise activity in the preoperative period and early ambulation in the postoperative setting. Patients also receive a Fitbit to monitor step count.

ARM III: Patients receive usual care consisting of the clinician educating the patient on the importance of increasing exercise activity in the preoperative period and walking in the postoperative setting. Patients also receive a Fitbit device install and use the Fitbit app on a smartphone. Postoperative step goals are as follows: Postoperative day (POD) 1: 25% of baseline. Subsequent days will be increased by 10% until patient reaches baseline daily step number. Five automatic daily reminders (delivered by the Fitbit Inspire HR^TM device itself) to meet a minimum of 250 steps an hour. Postoperatively, patients will be invited to participate in a private group with a leaderboard that consists of step numbers of other participants in the study in an anonymous fashion.

After completion of study intervention, patients are followed up at postoperative clinic and at 30 days after surgery.

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 (Estimated)

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.
240

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

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Recruiting
        • M D Anderson Cancer Center
        • Contact:
          • Garrett L. Walsh
          • Phone Number: 713-792-6849
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Garrett L. Walsh

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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years or older
  • English speaking
  • Ambulatory preoperatively
  • Patients undergoing at least a lobectomy
  • Must own a smart phone and be willing to install the Fitbit application (App)
  • Adequate internet connection via wifi or wireless network connection with smartphone
  • Patients who are not already using a wearable device to track daily steps

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medical, psychiatric, cognitive or other conditions that compromise the patient's ability to understand the patient information, to give informed consent, to comply with the study protocol or to complete the study.
  • Cannot maintain activity monitor in place at the time of consent
  • Pregnant patients

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: Parallel 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.
Active Comparator: Arm I (usual care)
Patients receive usual care consisting of the clinician educating the patient on the importance of increasing exercise activity in the preoperative period and early ambulation in the postoperative setting.
Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Ancillary studies
Other Names:
  • Quality of Life Assessment
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Best Practice
Receive usual care
Other Names:
  • standard of care
  • standard therapy
Active Comparator: Arm II (usual care, Fitbit)
Patients receive usual care consisting of the clinician educating the patient on the importance of increasing exercise activity in the preoperative period and early ambulation in the postoperative setting. Patients also receive a Fitbit to monitor step count
Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Ancillary studies
Other Names:
  • Quality of Life Assessment
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Best Practice
Receive usual care
Other Names:
  • standard of care
  • standard therapy
Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation
Use Fitbit to monitor step count
Experimental: Arm III (usual care, Fitbit, Fitbit app)
Patients receive usual care consisting of the clinician educating the patient on the importance of increasing exercise activity in the preoperative period and walking in the postoperative setting. Patients also receive a Fitbit device, install and use the Fitbit app on a smartphone. Postoperative step goals are as follows: Postoperative day (POD) 1: 25% of baseline. Subsequent days will be increased by 10% until patient reaches baseline daily step number. Five automatic daily reminders (delivered by the Fitbit Inspire HR^TM device itself) to meet a minimum of 250 steps an hour. Postoperatively, patients will be invited to participate in a private group with a leaderboard that consists of step numbers of other participants in the study in an anonymous fashion.
Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Ancillary studies
Other Names:
  • Quality of Life Assessment
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Best Practice
Receive usual care
Other Names:
  • standard of care
  • standard therapy
Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation
Use Fitbit to monitor step count
Other: Health Promotion and Education
Install and use Fitbit app

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
Clavien-Dindo postoperative morbidity (POM) score
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery

Two Bayesian probability and inferential models will be utilized:

  • Model 1: Inferential goals: Probability that POM score in the control arm is greater than F0 or FB arm: mean and 95% Credible Interval

  • Model 2: Baseline covariates adjusted analysis of model 1

    • Performance status
    • FEV1
    • Age
    • Open vs. Minimally invasive (0 is best, 5 is worst.) 0 - No postoperative complications 1. - Minor complication resolved without intervention 2. - complication requiring pharmaceutical intervention 3. - complication requiring surgical, endoscopic or radiological intervention, 4. - life-threatening complication requiring intensive care 5. - complication leading to the patient's death.
Up to 30 days after surgery

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
Differences in steps regained at each postoperative day (Fitbit only arm [F0] and Fitbit integration arm [FB])
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery
Number of steps regained starting from after surgery for each of the arms.
Up to 30 days after surgery
Change in quality of life
Time Frame: Baseline to 30 days after surgery
Assessed using MD Anderson Symptom Inventory - Lung Cancer (MDASI-LC). (0 - 10 discrete numbers) 0 - Not present 10 - As bad as you can imagine.
Baseline to 30 days after surgery
Hospital length of stay
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery
Up to 30 days after surgery
Hospital readmission rate for lung surgery related events
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery
Up to 30 days after surgery
Return of bowel function
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery
Time to first bowel movement.
Up to 30 days after surgery
Postoperative complications and step numbers
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery
How would you rate daily step goals as being helpful in your postoperative recovery? From 0-5, 0 being not helpful at all and 5 being the most helpful.
Up to 30 days after surgery
Fitbit user experience (F0 and FB arm)
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after surgery
Survey. How would you rate the use of Fitbit in your postoperative recovery From 0-5, 0 being not helpful at all and 5 being the most helpful How difficult was it to keep the device on your wrist From 0-5, 0 being extremely difficult, and 5 being extremely easy.
Up to 30 days after surgery

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.
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

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: Garrett L Walsh, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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.
November 30, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 2, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 2, 2027

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).
February 3, 2021

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.
March 2, 2021

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.
March 5, 2021

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.
April 16, 2026

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.
April 13, 2026

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.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

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.
  • 2020-0453 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center)
  • NCI-2020-14126 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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