Use of EL-FIT App to Promote Physical Activity

Cirrhosis, Liver Clinical Trial

— EL-FIT  

Official title:

EL-FIT (Exercise and Liver FITness): Validation of an Innovative Virtual Tool to Promote Physical Activity in Liver Transplant Candidates With Advanced Liver Disease

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04604860
• Other study ID #: STUDY19020063
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 23, 2020
• Est. completion date: February 24, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: June 2022
• Source: University of Pittsburgh
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Transplant-eligible patients with cirrhosis and ESLD, age 40-70, MELD >/= 10 referred to transplant physical therapy will be invited to participate. The investigators will exclude those who lack a smartphone or the understanding of its functionality, lack home wireless internet, or have recurrent/persistent overt hepatic encephalopathy. Following signing of informed consent, each participant will be given a Fitbit Charge 3 and have EL-FIT and Fitbit apps downloaded to their smartphone. After a brief session with a member of the research team explaining the basic components and functionality of EL-FIT and Fitbit, patients will be provided with general physical activity recommendations (as per our current standard of care) and asked to explore all features of EL-FIT and Fitbit apps, up until their 12-week follow-up visit. Phone calls to incentivize physical activity and exercise will be performed by members of the research team.

Description:

The study consists of two visits, baseline and 12-week follow-up, with at least one follow-up phone call on a weekly basis. Visit one is expected to last for 30 minutes and visit 2 for 60 minutes, whereas each phone call should take no more than 15 minutes. Twice during the study period, the investigators will draw serum and plasma samples for future translational research. Daily, the physical trainer will review collected data on EL-FIT research database and Fitabase. Each participant will have an exit interview by the end of week 12 with the trainer and a member of the research team to talk about their impressions of using EL-FIT and Fitbit, through a structured questionnaire assessing about how user friendly it was to use the EL-FIT app. Finally, trainers will be asked to compare the type of prescription that they provided to patients as part of the standard of care (based on liver frailty index or 6-minute walk test), to compare it with the allocation provided by EL-FIT stratification algorithm.

To learn about how to improve EL-FIT the investigators will ask patients and their caregivers open-ended questions as part of their exit interview. This will allow us to identify barriers precluding them from keeping up with physical trainer recommendations, and what would they like to include to enhance motivation as part of a physical activity program. A member of the research team will act as a facilitator during this session.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 59
• Est. completion date: February 24, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: February 24, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 40 Years to 70 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• cirrhosis and ESLD

• transplant eligible

• MELD >/=10

• referred to transplant physical therapist

Exclusion Criteria:

• those who lack a smartphone or the understanding of its functionality

• lack home wireless internet

• have recurrent/persistent overt hepatic encephalopathy

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cirrhosis, Liver
• End Stage Liver DIsease
• Liver Cirrhosis
• Liver Diseases

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Fitness intervention
Patients will follow exercise plans designed to promote physical activity (exercise and behavioral coaching).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Pittsburgh Medical Center	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Pittsburgh	American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), Pittsburgh Liver Research Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in liver frailty index (LFI) score	Change in liver frailty index from baseline to the end of the study	12 weeks
Primary	Change in six minute walk test (6MWT)	Change in six minute walk test from baseline to the end of the study	12 weeks
Secondary	Change in daily average steps	Comparison of average daily steps from baseline until the end of study	12 weeks
Secondary	Usability of EL-FIT app	How patient interacts with each of the features of EL-FIT app based on responses to questionairre	12 weeks