Rehabilitation for Older Adults From Acute Medical Conditions

NCT00038155 | Completed Phase 2

• 1 other identifier: E2805G
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 10
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Hospitalization for an acute medical condition often results in functional decline in older adults. This loss of function often is not reversed after hospital discharge. Our general hypothesis is that patients will benefit from rehabilitation that occurs simultaneously with the medical management of acute conditions and when linked with a home exercise program that can be implemented after discharge from the hospital. This approach differs from the traditional approach of addressing rehabilitation needs after acute conditions have resolved and providing rehabilitation services for selected patients in institutional settings, such as subacute units or nursing homes. The feasibility of the program will be assessed by documenting the participation of subjects during the inpatient phase and adherence of subjects with the home-based program. Fifty subjects will be recruited from individuals who are 60 years of age or older who have been admitted to the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) for treatment of an acute medical condition. Subjects will be either unable to ambulate, require assistance for ambulation, or be unable to ambulate a functional distance (150 feet) at a functional velocity (30m/min). Subjects will be randomly assigned to a physical rehabilitation group (PR) or to a control group (CON). During hospitalization, subjects in the PR group daily will have one 45-minute morning rehabilitation session and one 30-minute evening rehabilitation session. Both sessions will include ambulation and transfer training. The longer morning session will also include resistance exercise. Subjects in the CON group will have medial care as it is currently provided. During the six months after discharge, subjects in the PR group will perform a home-based exercise program consisting of ambulation and resistance exercises. The program will be monitored and progressed by an exercise physiologist who will visit subjects weekly for the first month after discharge, every other week for the second and third months after discharge, and monthly in the fourth, fifth, and six months after discharge. This study is designed to test the feasibility and effectiveness of a practical and potentially cost-effective rehabilitation program.

Conditions

Aging; Frail Elderly

Keywords

Ambulation; Difficulties in ambulation; Geriatric; Rehabilitation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• feasibility of recruitment and intervention

  discharge and 6 months post discharge

Study Arms (1)

1

OTHER

Procedure: Ambulation training

Interventions

Ambulation training PROCEDURE

Recruitment of eligible subjects, ambulatory and resistance training in hospital and post-discharge

1

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Older patients with ambulation difficulty

Sponsors & Collaborators

• US Department of Veterans Affairs: lead

Study Sites (1)

VA Medical Center, Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, 35233, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Richard Allman, MD

  VA Medical Center, Birmingham

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 2
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: FED

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 29, 2002
• First Posted: May 30, 2002
• Study Start: May 1, 2002
• Primary Completion: September 1, 2005
• Study Completion: September 1, 2005
• Last Updated: September 24, 2010

Record last verified: 2010-09

Locations

US (1)