Wearable fitness tracker helps with recovery after esophagectomy

For patients who have undergone esophageal cancer surgery, the use of wearable fitness trackers (WFT) leads to a lower incidence of postoperative pneumonia, as shown in a study. It also improves nutritional status and the rates of diary entries, highlighting the device’s utility in postoperative recovery.

The study included 94 patients who underwent esophagectomy, some of whom used WFT after their surgery. The purpose of the WFT was to improve motivation for perioperative rehabilitation and visualize the amount of physical activity. Physicians, nurses, dietitians, and physical therapists provided diary-based education for all patients.

Researchers applied propensity score matching and compared the perioperative outcomes of patients who used both the diary and WFT (WFT group, n=31) and those who used the diary alone (non-WFT group, n=31).

Compared with the non-WFT group, the WFT group had a significantly lower rate of postoperative pneumonia (0 percent vs 22.6 percent; p=0.005) and shorter postoperative hospital stay (p=0.012).

Furthermore, nutritional status indices, such as the prognostic nutritional index, improved to a greater degree in the WFT group at 1 month after surgery (p=0.034). The rate of diary entries was significantly higher in the WFT vs non-WFT group (72.3 percent vs 28.3 percent; p<0.001).

The findings suggest that WFT helps promote recovery after esophagectomy.