4 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of this study is to use functional studies to study the effectiveness of prehabilitation prior to surgery. The investigators know that stronger patients have better outcomes after surgery compared to weaker patients. This study will help the study team determine if prehabilitation can make patients stronger prior to surgery. It is hoped by learning more about frailty and prehabilitation strategies may be developed to minimize or prevent complications in the future. Participants are being asked to participate in this study because they are going to have a pancreatic procedure.
The study will include patients who require elective major abdominal surgery for cancerous or non-cancerous conditions. The goal of the research is to assess the benefit of a prehabilitation program before surgery that includes nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, and optimization of chronic disease. A group of 10 patients will take part in a prehabilitation program. These patients will be compared to 20 patients who received standard of care.
The researchers will conduct observations, interviews, and focus groups with clinicians, staff and patients of the Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health (POSH) clinic, which conducts preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessments (pCGA) at UW Health to understand clinic processes and potential areas for improvement. The goal is to (1) create a process map describing clinic workflow and (2) redesign the process with healthcare providers and patients/families.
The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate a high intensity walking intervention in older surgical candidates with kidney or thoracic disease and pre-frailty or frailty.