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Early Exercise-Based Rehabilitation in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Pulmonary Embolism

NCT07143539 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 160

Last updated 2026-03-02

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Up to half of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) suffer from impaired quality of life, reduced physical capacity, and symptoms like shortness of breath even three months after diagnosis, despite standard treatment with anticoagulation (blood thinners). The randomized RehabPE trial investigates whether an early, structured rehabilitation program with physical training and patient education can prevent such long-term effects.

The study includes hospitalized patients with acute symptomatic PE who are at increased risk of impaired quality of life three months after diagnosis. After informed consent, patients are randomly assigned to one of two groups: one receives an early 6-8-week, center-based rehabilitation program; the other receives standard follow-up care without rehabilitation. The intervention group completes 16-18 outpatient sessions of endurance and strength training, along with two education sessions covering the condition, treatment, and symptom management.

Over 180 days, changes in quality of life, physical exercise capacity, breathlessness, and psychological symptoms, and the time to return to work / usual daily activities will be monitored and compared between groups.

Conditions

  • Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
  • Exercise Therapy
  • Quality of Life (QOL)
  • Anxiety Depression
  • Humans
  • Exercise Tolerance
  • Rehabilitation Exercise
  • Dyspnea
  • Functional Status
  • Pulmonary Embolism (Diagnosis)

Interventions

OTHER

Exercise-based rehabilitation program

Participants in the intervention group will receive a patient-tailored early (i.e., within 4 weeks of PE diagnosis) EBR program, comprising 16-18 sessions of supervised aerobic exercise and resistance/strength training at local outpatient rehabilitation centers, along with 2 PE-related educational sessions at 2 and 6 weeks of rehabilitation. Participants will receive comprehensive information on the purpose of EBR and each of its components, reassurance on its safety, and education on self-monitoring. Furthermore, physiotherapists will tailor the training based on specific capabilities, focusing on areas of weakness.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Tobias Tritschler, MD, MSc · Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-12-19
Primary Completion
2028-03-31
Completion
2028-06-30

Countries

  • Switzerland

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07143539 on ClinicalTrials.gov