Effects of Preoperative High-Intensity Interval Training Combined With Team Empowerment Education in Lung Cancer Patients With Surgery: A Quasi-experimental Trial.

Background: Cancer itself and surgery put a heavy burden on lung cancer patients, physiologically and psychologically. Enhancing self-efficacy during high-intensity interval training is essential for achieving the full benefit of pulmonary rehabilitation in lung cancer patients.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the effects of high-intensity interval training combined with team empowerment education on patients with lung resection.

Methods: This is a quasi-experimental trial with a pretest-posttest design. Participants were assigned to one of the 3 groups according to the order of admission: (1) combined intervention group, (2) intervention group, or (3) routine care group. The outcome measures included dyspnea, exercise capacity, exercise self-efficacy, anxiety, depression, postoperative indwelling time of thoracic drainage tube, and total in-hospital stay.

Results: Per-protocol results showed that dyspnea, exercise capacity, exercise self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression of the patients in the combined intervention group were significantly improved. However, no significant difference was observed in postoperative indwelling time of thoracic drainage tube or total in-hospital stay among the 3 groups.

Conclusion: This hospital-based short-term high-intensity interval training combined with team empowerment education for lung cancer patients undergoing surgery was safe and feasible, indicating this program can be a promising strategy to manage perioperative symptoms.

Implications for practice: This study provides evidence supporting preoperative high-intensity interval training as a promising method to make the best use of preoperative time, thus improving adverse symptoms in lung cancer patients undergoing surgery, and also provides a new strategy to raise exercise self-efficacy and promote patients' rehabilitation.