Prestigious recognition for physical therapy trial

June 2022

For the past decade Launceston General Hospital physiotherapist Dr Ianthe Boden has been researching ways to prevent pneumonia and improve patient recovery after major surgery.

Now, her award-winning ICEAGE (Incidence of Complications following Emergency Abdominal Surgery – Get Exercising) trial has reached an exciting milestone, with the pilot phase recently published in the prestigious US journal, the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

Named Editor’s Choice, Best of Surgery Critical Care article for the June issue, the study is the first of its kind in the world to explore if intensive physical therapy in the first five days after emergency abdominal surgery can prevent pneumonia and help patients get better quicker.

 The chance of a chest infection following emergency abdominal surgery can be as high as 40%, while recovery and return to a normal level of activity and strength can take up to 6 months.

 With over half a million patients operated on every year, abdominal surgery is the most common major surgery type performed in hospitals around Australia. At the LGH it represents up to 500 patients a year.

 With $80,000 funding from the Clifford Craig Foundation, Ianthe’s randomised control trial commenced in 2015.

 The internal pilot phase found that early intensive physical therapy of coached breathing exercises and 30 minutes of assisted physical activity delivered daily in the first five days after emergency abdominal surgery was safe and feasible.

 This resulted in a significant increase to total dosage of breathing exercises and physical activity in the first week after surgery.

The trial was then rolled out into multi-centre phase, providing world-first evidence on the effectiveness of an intervention to prevent pneumonia and improve physical recovery after emergency abdominal surgery.

 Preliminary findings of ICEAGE were presented at the 2018 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Trauma Symposium where it won Best Paper.

 The final results were then presented at the 2019 World Congress of Physical Therapy, Geneva, Switzerland where it was named Best Clinical Trial.

 In the most recent publication, Ianthe reports that it is possible to deliver early, intensive physical therapy in this high-risk, highly acute surgical group.

 Most importantly, the study shows it is just as safe as standard practice.