Feasibility and Utility of a Prehabilitation Program for Use in Patients With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Who Have Elected to Undergo Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP).

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Comprehensive Prehabilitation Programming: This prehabilitation program will include an exercise component consisting of once weekly pelvic floor physiotherapy sessions as well as recommendations to complete pelvic floor strengthening exercises and 150 minutes of moderate to intense cardiovascular exercise at home. Completion of these exercises will be self-reported biweekly through an exercise tracking form submitted to study staff. This program will also include access to a comprehensive online module with information about BPH and the HoLEP procedure. Lastly, this will consist of access to mental health supports including individual and couples counselling.

Study summary

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a debilitating condition which is highly prevalent in older males, up to 45% of those over the age of 45 are affected and 80% of those over the age of 70 are affected. While not all men with BPH experience problematic symptoms, many will experience lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) including difficulty passing urine, recurrent urinary tract infections, bladder stones, and hematuria. Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) is the gold standard in terms of surgical BPH management and is associated with a low risk for requiring repeat interventions. However, in the weeks following HoLEP procedures many men will experience transient urinary incontinence which can be distressing to patients.

In the setting of prostate cancer, exercise and mental health supports prior to surgery has been shown to improve incontinence and post-surgical recovery. This is often termed prehabilitation and consists of programming done in the months before surgery. The objective of this study is to assess the safety and feasibility of prehabilitation programming prior to HoLEP procedures for men with BPH.

The investigators will be randomizing 40 patients into 2 groups, one receiving standard of care interventions prior to their HoLEP surgery and one receiving at least 12 weeks of comprehensive prehabilitation programming including: pelvic floor physiotherapy, access to additional informational resources, and access to mental health supports including individual and couples counselling. In both groups the investigators will be collecting key demographics and clinical information from patients as well as assessing their urinary function through several questionnaires before prehabilitation, immediately before surgery, and up to 1 year after surgery.

The investigators hope to establish that prehabilitation is a safe and feasible option for these patients. Secondarily investigators hope to provide evidence that prehabilitation improves incontinence faster following HoLEP procedures and improves post-surgical recovery.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Feasibility through modified system usability scale as well as through recruitment rates, adherence rates, and retention rates. — Only assessed at the pre-surgical follow-up (ie. from baseline to pre-surgery), between 1-4 weeks prior to surgery.
  Feasibility will be assessed through a feasibility questionnaire administered only to participants in the intervention group prior to surgery. This questionnaire is a modified version of a previously established system usability scale which consists of 10 questions assessing the feasibility of the program which participants will rate on a 1-5 Likert scale. Four additional yes/no questions regarding feasibility for further assessment. Feasibility will also be assessed based on recruitment (with a goal of 30% of patients approached based on previous studies), adherence to the exercise protocol (with a goal of 70% adherence based on previous studies), and retention through the full 12-weeks of the intervention (with a goal of 80% based on previous studies.
• Safety assessed through side effects of prehabilitation programming and reporting of adverse events. — To be administered every 3 weeks of the 12-week prehabilitation program starting with the 3rd week and ending with the 12th week.
  Safety will be assessed through a modified version of safety questionnaires used in previously reported exercise and counselling studies. This will consist of 8 questions (graded on a 0-10 Likert scale) assessing the side effects of exercise programming, 4 questions (graded on a 0-10 Likert scale) assessing the side effects of mental health supports, and a question assessing adverse events. Any adverse events would be reported and graded minor (Grade ≤1 - not requiring medical intervention) or serious (Grade ≥2 - requiring medical intervention) based on previously established National Health Institute criteria.

Trial sites (1)

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