Interest of Intensive Postoperative Rehabilitation Following Minimally Invasive Lung Resection (IRPOL)

September 8, 2025 updated by: University Hospital, Rouen

Interest of Intensive Postoperative Rehabilitation Following Minimally Invasive Lung Resection: A Randomized Controlled Study

For patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), lung resection surgery remains the gold standard for curative treatment. This scheduled operation is associated with significant morbidity, particularly in individuals with impaired cardio-respiratory function. Therefore, patient optimization is paramount. The process begins prior to surgery with preoperative rehabilitation, commonly referred to as "prehabilitation," serving as the foundation for various Enhanced Recovery After Surgery programs. The training methods employed in these programs bear similarity to rehabilitation programs designed for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Postoperatively, patients undergoing thoracic surgery partake in daily physiotherapy sessions, aiming to optimize the postoperative period, minimize the respiratory impact of surgery, and reduce the length of hospital stay. However, this treatment is not currently standardized and primarily involves early mobilization, including walking, and respiratory physiotherapy. Our focus is on the intensity and methods of this postoperative rehabilitation.

There is limited literature on effective early rehabilitation in the immediate postoperative period, and existing studies suggest no adverse events associated with postoperative training. Therefore, our objective is to assess whether combining endurance training with standard physiotherapy (walking and respiratory physiotherapy) enhances the functional capacity of individuals undergoing lung surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

184

Phase

  • 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 Backup

Study Locations

    • Hauts-de-France
      • Valenciennes, Hauts-de-France, France, 59322
    • Normandy
      • Caen, Normandy, France, 14033
        • Recruiting
        • CAEN, university Hospital
        • Contact:
      • Rouen, Normandy, France, 76 031
        • Recruiting
        • Rouen, University Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients requiring surgery for diagnosed or undergoing diagnosis of lung cancer.
  • Patients in need of major lung resection through a minimally invasive approach.
  • Patients capable of performing the chair rise test.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Contraindications to cyclo-ergometry: Deep vein thrombosis in a lower limb. Patients with one or both lower limbs amputated. Rheumatological pathology, trauma, or previous surgery in the lower limb, pelvis, or spine, resulting in limited joint amplitude or strict immobilization.

Dermatological conditions with severe lesions preventing prolonged sitting on a bicycle.

  • Glasgow score less than 15.
  • Patients who have not undergone pulmonary resection by minimally invasive surgery.
  • Patients hospitalized outside the thoracic surgery department before the first post-operative visit with the physiotherapist on Day 0.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: standard rehabilitation
Experimental: standard rehabilitation and cycloergometer
The patient undergoes a daily session on the cycloergometer (Am3i Ergometer). The patient is instructed to pedal at a heart rate ranging from 60% to 80% of their maximum heart rate (calculated as 220 minus their age) for a duration of 20 minutes. These sessions can be conducted with oxygen therapy for patients dependent on oxygen. The sessions are maintained until the patient is discharged from the department.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of chair lifts at the scheduled visit 30 days after surgery
Time Frame: 30 days after surgery
number of chair lifts
30 days after surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
number of days between surgery and discharge patient
Time Frame: 30 days after surgery
30 days after surgery
chair rise test
Time Frame: 7 days after surgery
7 days after surgery
number of complication GRADE II of clavien dindo classification
Time Frame: 30 days after surgery
30 days after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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)

September 9, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 9, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 9, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 29, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 29, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

January 11, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

September 10, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2025

Last Verified

September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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