Introducing the Smartphone App, EL-FIT (Exercise & Liver FITness), to Help Monitor and Prehabilitate Liver Transplant Candidates
1University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 2University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 3University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 4Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Meeting: 2020 American Transplant Congress
Abstract number: 49
Keywords: Liver cirrhosis, Prognosis, Risk factors, Waiting lists
Session Information
Session Name: Liver: Portal Hypertension and Other Complications of Cirrhosis
Session Type: Oral Abstract Session
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2020
Session Time: 3:15pm-4:45pm
Presentation Time: 3:39pm-3:51pm
Location: Virtual
*Purpose: Physical activity is key to liver transplant (LT) prehabilitation, and leveraging technologies to monitor physical performance and to generalize training may be advantageous. EL-FIT is a novel app linked to personal activity trackers (PAT), which continuously monitor steps and heart rate, and delivers educational/exercising videos (5 sections, 4-7 videos per section). Through a proprietary algorithm, EL-FIT can allocate training intensity and it includes multiple motivational features to incentivize its users to become more physically active. We aimed to determine the usability of EL-FIT in 25 LT candidates over 4 to 6 weeks.
*Methods: We compared the EL-FIT stratification algorithm to that of our LT physical therapist (LT-PT) across 3 intensities: strength & mobility, low and moderate intensity; and determined whether patients exercised with EL-FIT videos and interacted with EL-FIT features. PAT-collected step count and heart rate was reviewed, along with achievements, including rate of perceived exertion (RPE) following exercising with a video, and delivered heart (moderate exercise 28-min/day), silver-foot and gold-foot badges (surpassing step goal for 5 days/week during 1 or 2 weeks, respectively).
*Results: Age was 59±7 years (56% male, BMI 33±6), MELD-Na 19±4, with Child C in 52%. No patient had overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE), but 95% had minimal HE. Agreement between EL-FIT and LT-PT allocation was 92% (2 patients allocated to a lower intensity level by EL-FIT). Frailty was present in 16% by liver frailty index (LFI) and in 29% by 6-min walk test (6MWT). Video interaction was documented for 22 participants (92%), each watching 3 to 109 videos, with 21 reporting intensity of exercise via emoji-RPE. A video section was completed by 18 participants, and 10 [42%] executed the whole section of corresponding intensity. EL-FIT database successfully collected step counts and heart rate for an average of 36 days/patient. Based on step count performance, 9 patients received heart badges (from 2 to 71 each), and 13 and 9 received silver/gold-foot badges (from 1 to 12 each). Frail patients did not receive less badges when frailty was defined by LFI, although they did receive less silver/gold-foot badges when defined by 6MWT (p=0.02).
*Conclusions: A technology such as EL-FIT can be used to successfully educate LT candidates on physical function and facilitate training, in spite of a high prevalence of decompensation and minimal HE. This type of technology appears to safely allocate exercise intensity, compared to what would be allocated with LT-PT. Thus, EL-FIT provides a promising technology that can be applied to LT candidates to monitor, and potentially enhance physical activity, within the context of LT prehabilitation.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Duarte-Rojo A, Bloomer PM, Rogers RJ, Dunn MA, Tapper EB, Bataller R, Hughes CB, Ferrando AA, Kim WR, Jakicic JM. Introducing the Smartphone App, EL-FIT (Exercise & Liver FITness), to Help Monitor and Prehabilitate Liver Transplant Candidates [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2020; 20 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/introducing-the-smartphone-app-el-fit-exercise-liver-fitness-to-help-monitor-and-prehabilitate-liver-transplant-candidates/. Accessed November 22, 2024.« Back to 2020 American Transplant Congress