Reporting quality of randomized controlled trials in prehabilitation: a scoping review

Dominique Engel; Giuseppe Dario Testa; Daniel I McIsaac; Francesco Carli; Daniel Santa Mina; Gabriele Baldini; Celena Scheede-Bergdahl; Stéphanie Chevalier; Linda Edgar; Christian M Beilstein; Markus Huber; Julio F Fiore Jr; Chelsia Gillis

doi:10.1186/s13741-023-00338-8

Reporting quality of randomized controlled trials in prehabilitation: a scoping review

Perioper Med (Lond). 2023 Aug 31;12(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s13741-023-00338-8.

Authors

Dominique Engel^{1

2}, Giuseppe Dario Testa^{2

3}, Daniel I McIsaac⁴, Francesco Carli², Daniel Santa Mina⁵, Gabriele Baldini⁶, Celena Scheede-Bergdahl⁷, Stéphanie Chevalier^{8

9}, Linda Edgar¹⁰, Christian M Beilstein¹, Markus Huber¹, Julio F Fiore Jr^#¹¹, Chelsia Gillis^#^{12

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
² Department of Anesthesia, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
³ Division of Geriatric and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Florence and Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy.
⁴ Clinical Epidemiology Program, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Section of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
⁷ Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁸ School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada.
⁹ Department of Medicine, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
¹⁰ Prehabilitation Clinic, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada.
¹² Department of Anesthesia, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada. chelsia.gillis@mcgill.ca.
¹³ School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada. chelsia.gillis@mcgill.ca.
¹⁴ Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada. chelsia.gillis@mcgill.ca.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Inadequate study reporting precludes interpretation of findings, pooling of results in meta-analyses, and delays knowledge translation. While prehabilitation interventions aim to enhance candidacy for surgery, to our knowledge, a review of the quality of reporting in prehabilitation has yet to be conducted. Our objective was to determine the extent to which randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of prehabilitation are reported according to methodological and intervention reporting checklists.

Methods: Eligibility criteria: RCTs of unimodal or multimodal prehabilitation interventions.

Sources of evidence: search was conducted in March 2022 using MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Cochrane.

Charting methods: identified studies were compared to CONSORT, CERT & Modified CERT, TIDieR, PRESENT, and CONSORT-SPI. An agreement ratio (AR) was defined to evaluate if applicable guideline items were correctly reported. Data were analyzed as frequency (n, %) and mean with standard deviation (SD).

Results: We identified 935 unique articles and included 70 trials published from 1994 to 2022. Most prehabilitation programs comprised exercise-only interventions (n = 40, 57%) and were applied before oncologic surgery (n = 32, 46%). The overall mean AR was 57% (SD: 20.9%). The specific mean ARs were as follows: CONSORT: 71% (SD: 16.3%); TIDieR: 62% (SD:17.7%); CERT: 54% (SD: 16.6%); Modified-CERT: 40% (SD:17.8%); PRESENT: 78% (SD: 8.9); and CONSORT-SPI: 47% (SD: 22.1).

Conclusion: Altogether, existing prehabilitation trials report approximately half of the checklist items recommended by methodological and intervention reporting guidelines. Reporting practices may improve with the development of a reporting checklist specific to prehabilitation interventions.

Keywords: ERAS (enhanced recovery after surgery); Perioperative medicine; Pre-rehab; Prehab.

Publication types

Review