Home Exercise Training Improves Exercise Capacity in Cirrhosis Patients: Role of Exercise Adherence.

Cirrhosis patients have reduced peak aerobic power (peak VO2) that is associated with reduced survival. Supervised exercise training increases exercise tolerance. The effect of home-based exercise training (HET) in cirrhosis is unknown. The objective was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 8 weeks of HET on peak VO2, 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), muscle mass, and quality of life in cirrhosis. Random assignment to 8 weeks of HET (moderate to high intensity cycling exercise, 3 days/week) or usual care. Exercise adherence defined as completing ≥80% training sessions. Paired t-tests and analysis of covariance used for comparisons. Forty patients enrolled: 58% male, mean age 57 y, 70% Child Pugh-A. Between group increases in peak VO2 (1.7, 95% CI: -0.33 to 3.7 ml/kg/min, p = 0.09) and 6MWD (33.7, 95% CI: 5.1 to 62.4 m, p = 0.02) were greater after HET versus usual care. Improvements even more marked in adherent subjects for peak VO2 (2.8, 95% CI: 0.5-5.2 mL/kg/min, p = 0.02) and 6MWD (46.4, 95% CI: 12.4-80.5 m, p = 0.009). No adverse events occurred during testing or HET. Eight weeks of HET is a safe and effective intervention to improve exercise capacity in cirrhosis, with maximal benefits occurring in those who complete ≥80% of the program.

Referral criteria for assessment and treatment in an ambulatory dysphagia clinic.

Dysphagia is highly prevalent in patients with chronic neurological disorders and can increase the risk for comorbidities such as aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. Treatment includes timely access to interdisciplinary health care teams with specialized skills in dysphagia management. A retrospective chart review (n=99 of 125 charts screened) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of referral criteria to identify and triage patients with suspected dysphagia to an ambulatory dysphagia clinic. Variables collected included demographic information (age), anthropometric information (body mass index [BMI], each patient's sex), reason for referral, primary medical diagnosis, symptomatology (e.g., pneumonia, chest congestion), nutrition and swallowing interventions, clinic wait times, missed/cancelled appointments, and referring health care professional. The mean age and mean BMI ± standard deviation of patients reviewed were 68.7 years ± 18.4 years and 25.2 kg/m² ± 6.7 kg/m², respectively. Average clinic wait times were 158 days (13 to 368 days) for routine and 52 days (0 to 344 days) for urgent assessments (p<0.001). The most common reason(s) for referral was/were related to dysphagia (n=83), surgery (n=50), and/or gastrointestinal symptomatology (n=28); 80% to 90% of patients received varying diagnostic and treatment services for dysphagia. Development of effective referral criteria is critical to ensure that clients with dysphagia receive timely diagnostic, treatment, and nutrition interventions by interdisciplinary health care teams specializing in dysphagia.