Table 3.

Prehabilitation characteristics of the included studies

Ref.	Context, location	Supervision	Frequency of training	Method used to set training intensity	Overall intensity of training	Objective monitoring of training progression	Time of a training session	Period of training	Type of physical exercise training, including other prehabilitation modalities
Kim et al.22	Home-based	Unsupervised	Daily	Aerobic training: at 40 to 65% of HRR based on CPET	Moderate	No	20 to 30 min	4 weeks	Structured aerobic training (20 to 30 min) on a cycle ergometer
Carli et al.23	Home-based	Unsupervised	Daily	Aerobic training: at 50% of HRpeak based on CPET, gradually increased each week by 10%, if tolerable Resistance training: repetitions up to volitional fatigue, with a maximum of 12 repetitions for push-ups, sit-ups and lunges, or up to eight repetitions for biceps, deltoids and quadriceps exercises	Moderate	No	20 to 45 min	3 to 9 weeks	Aerobic training (20 to 30 min) on a cycle ergometer (daily) Resistance training (10 to 15 min): push-ups, sit-ups, and standing strides (three times a week)
Dronkers et al.24	Hospital-based	Supervised	Two times a week	Aerobic training: at 55 to 75% of HRmax or a rating of perceived exertion of 11 to 13 on the Borg scale Resistance training: maximum of one set of eight to15 repetitions, consistent with 60 to 80% of 1RM IMT: breathing against a resistance of 10 to 60% of maximal inspiratory pressure	Moderate to high	No	60 min	2 to 4 weeks	- Aerobic training (20 to 30 min), combined with 15 min of IMT and resistance training of the lower limb extensors (maximum of one set of eight to 15 repetitions) at the outpatient department of the hospital Additional home-based training: participants were asked to perform moderate-intense exercises (minimum of 30 min walking or cycling), five times a week
Kaibori et al.25	Home-based	Unsupervised	Three times a week	Aerobic training: based on VAT achieved during CPET	Moderate	No	60 min	4 weeks	Aerobic training (30 min), walking a Stretching exercises (5 min as warm-up before aerobic training, 20 min of targeted stretching after aerobic training and 5 min as cool-down) Patients also received nutritional support (for patients with hepatitis or liver cirrhosis: daily energy intake was set at 25 to 30 kcal kg body mass−1, with a daily protein intake of 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg, and a daily sodium chloride intake of 5 to 7 g/kg; for patients with diabetes or fatty liver disease, daily energy intake was set at 20 to 25 kcal kg body mass−1; for patients with hypertension, daily sodium chloride intake was set at 6 kcal kg body mass−1)
Gillis et al.26	Home-based	Unsupervised b	Three times a week	Aerobic training: at 40% of HRR, calculated using the Karvonen formula [(220-age) – (resting HR × % intensity) + resting HR], where after intensity was progressed based on perceived exertion, Borg scale >12	Moderate	No	50 min	4 weeks	Trimodal prehabilitation at home, supervised by phone, including: Aerobic (20 min) and resistance (20 min) training, 5 min warm-up and 5 min cool-down Nutritional support (whey protein supplements: 1.2 kcal kg body mass−1) Psychological support (relaxation exercises, imagery and visualization, and breathing exercises), 2 to 3 times a week
Dunne et al.27	Hospital-based	Supervised	Three times a week	HIT: work interval at >90% of VO2peak, rest interval at <60% of VO2peak, based on CPET c	High	No	40 min	4 weeks	- HIT (5 min warm-up, 30 min HIT, 5 min cool-down) on a cycle ergometer
Barberan-Garcia et al.28	Community-based	Supervised	One to three times a week d	- HIT: 2-min work interval at ≥70% of WRpeak, based on CPET, in first 2 weeks, thereafter WR was increased by about 5% every week up to a maximum of 85% of WRpeak, 3-min rest interval at ≥40% WRpeak, based on CPET, in first 2 weeks, thereafter WR was increased by about 5% every week up to a maximum of 50% of WRpeak	High	No	47 min	6 weeks	Personalised HIT (5 min warm-up, 37 min HIT, 5 min cool-down) on a cycle ergometer Nutritional support (patients suffering from iron-deficiency anaemia received intravenous iron and in patients at a high risk of malnutrition (MUST ≥2), a nutritional intervention was done by registered dieticians) Motivational interviewing aiming to realize a more physically active lifestyle and mindfulness Encouraging to be physically active on a daily base
Bousquet-Dion et al.29	Home and hospital-based e	Partly supervised e	Three to four times a week	Aerobic training: walking, cycling or jogging based on the rate of perceived exertion (Borg scale) and 6MWT performance at 60 to 70% of HRR calculated from the Karvonen formula Resistance training: based on eight repetitions maximum test to provide a submaximal estimation of maximal strength	Moderate	No	60 min	4 weeks	- Aerobic training (walking, cycling or jogging for 30 min) and resistance training (30 min) Nutritional support (protein intake aiming for 1.2 kcal kg body mass−1) and supplementation (whey protein) if patients did not reach this target by diet alone Psychological support (home-based relaxation exercises based on visualisation and breathing exercises (two to three times a week), after 60 min supervised relaxation exercises to instruct patients)

1RM, one-repetition maximum; 6MWT, 6-min walk test; CPET, cardiopulmonary exercise testing; HIT, high-intensity interval training; HR, heart rate; HR_max, maximal heart rate; HR_peak, peak heart rate; HRR, heart rate reserve; IMT, inspiratory muscle training; MUST, malnutrition universal screening tool; VAT, ventilatory anaerobic threshold; VO_2peak, peak oxygen uptake; WR, work rate; WR_peak, peak work rate.

^aWalking intensity was based on the AT of each patient.

^bA limited degree of supervision was performed by phone.

^cDuration of work and rest intervals were not reported.

^dThe intervention group underwent a personalised prehabilitation programme based on their health conditions and social circumstances.

^eOnce a week, a training session was performed in-hospital (supervised by a kinesiologist), and the other sessions were performed at home.