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NCT Number: NCT07143539

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

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Anxiety Depression Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Cardiovascular Diseases Depression Disease Dyspnea Embolism Embolism and Thrombosis Exercise Therapy Exercise Tolerance Functional Status Humans Lung Diseases Mental Disorders Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Pulmonary Embolism Pulmonary Embolism (Diagnosis) Quality of Life (QOL) Rehabilitation Exercise Respiration Disorders Respiratory Tract Diseases Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms, Respiratory Thromboembolism Thrombosis Vascular Diseases Venous Thromboembolism Venous Thrombosis

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age ≥18 years
  • Hospitalization for objectively confirmed acute symptomatic PE, defined as intraluminal filling defect of a segmental or more proximal pulmonary artery on computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) or a high-probability ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy, and admission within the past 7 days
  • Increased risk for post-PE syndrome, defined as simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI) ≥1 point at the time of admission
  • Written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • Contraindication to EBR (known unstable cardiac conditions like angina pectoris, severe valvular heart disease, or severe resting pulmonary hypertension)
  • Medical condition that clearly precludes participation in EBR (e.g., inability to walk, unstable joints, severe neurological impairment)
  • Recently completed (i.e., <6 months), ongoing, or planned in- or outpatient EBR, or planned supervised outpatient physiotherapy for any indication
  • Planned hospitalization during follow-up (e.g., elective surgery or inpatient chemotherapy)
  • Contraindication to anticoagulation
  • Life expectancy <1 year based on the treating physician's clinical judgement
  • Known pregnancy
  • Inability to speak German or French
  • Participation in another study that prohibits concurrent participation in RehabPE
  • Unable to provide informed consent (e.g., due to dementia)
  • Unwilling to provide informed consent
  • Prior enrollment in this study

Treatment and study plan

Exercise-based rehabilitation program

Other

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.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in generic health-related quality of life (Physical Component Summary score; SF-36)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 after randomization

    Change from baseline to day 90 after randomization in generic healt-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by the PCS score of the self-completed SF-36 questionnaire. The SF-36 consists of 36 questions measuring 8 domains (vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning, and mental health) and assesses generic HRQoL during the previous 30 days. The PCS score is obtained from all 8 domains and ranges from 0 to 100.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in generic health-related quality of life (Physical Component Summary score; SF-36)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 180 after randomization

    Change from baseline to day 180 after randomization in the SF-36 Physical Component Summary score, ranging from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating better HRQoL.

  2. Change in generic health-related quality of life (Mental Component Summary score; SF-36)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Changes from baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization in the SF-36 Mental Component Summary score, ranging from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating better HRQoL.

  3. Change in PE-specific health-related quality of life (PEmb-QoL)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Change from baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization in PE-specific health-realted quality of life assessed by the self-completed PEmb-QoL questionnaire, which comprises 9 questions covering 6 domains, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. Total scores will be calculated based on the average of scores of all 6 domains.

  4. Change in physical exercise capacity (6 minute walking test)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Change in physical exercise capacity from baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization will be measured by the 6 minute walking test (6MWT). Participants will be asked to walk as far as possible in 6 minutes along a flat corridor of at least 30 mesters under supervision, and the distance in meters will determine the 6MWD.

  5. Change in functional status (Post-VTE Functional Status)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Change in functional status will be assessed by the Post-VTE Functional Status scale, where patients will grade their functional status on a scale ranging from 0 (no limitations due to VTE symptoms) to 4 (depending on assistance in activities of daily living due to VTE symptoms).

  6. Time to return to work (workers) or usual activities of daily living (non-workers)

    Time frame: For the duration of the study: 180 days

    Time (days) to return to work in workers or to usual activities of daily living in non-workers will be obtained based on information from patient interviews.

  7. Change in dyspnea

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Dyspnea will be measured based on information from patient interviews, using the NYHA classification, ranging from 1 (no limitation of physical activity due to shortness of breath) to 4 (unable to carry on any physical activity without shortness of breath).

  8. Change in symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Change in symptoms of anxiety will be assessed by the self-completed General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) ranging from 0 to 21 points.

  9. Change in symptoms of depression (PHQ-9)

    Time frame: From baseline to day 90 and to day 180 after randomization

    Change in symptoms of depression will be assessed by the self-completed Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), ranging from 0 to 27 points.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Tobias Tritschler, Prof. Dr. med., MSc

CONTACT

[email protected]

+41 (0)31 632 01 46

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Early Exercise-based Rehabilitation in High-risk Patients Hospitalized for Acute Pulmonary Embolism: a Pragmatic Multicenter Randomized Partially Blinded Superiority Trial

Acronym: RehabPE

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
Aug 27, 2025
Registry last updated
Jun 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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