E-Health Exercise Intervention for Pediatric Patients with Congenital Heart Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

To improve health-related physical fitness (HRPF) (primary outcome) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with a web-based motor intervention program in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Overall, 70 patients (13.0 ± 2.6 years; 34% girls) aged 10-18 years with moderate or complex CHD severity were randomly allocated 1:1 to an intervention or control group. The intervention group trained 3 times per week for 20 minutes in a web-based exercise program over a period of 24 weeks. The control group followed lifestyle per usual. At baseline and follow-up HRPF was assessed via 5 tasks of the FITNESSGRAM and converted to a HRPF z score. HRQoL was assessed with KINDL self-report questionnaire.

In total, 61 patients completed the follow-up. There was no change in total HRPF z score (intervention group: 0.14 ± 0.38 vs control group: 0.09 ± 0.38, P = .560) and total HRQoL (intervention group: -1.73 ± 8.33 vs control group: 1.31 ± 7.85, P = .160) after the 24-week web-based exercise intervention. This was true for all subcategories of HRPF and HRQoL. There were no adverse events associated with the web-based exercise intervention.

We found that 24 weeks of web-based exercise intervention with an aimed volume of 60 minutes of exercise per week was safe but did not improve HRPF and HRQoL in children with moderate or complex CHD.

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03488797.