Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Oct 27, 2023; 15(10): 1153-1163
Published online Oct 27, 2023. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v15.i10.1153
Exercise training as an intervention for frailty in cirrhotic patients on the liver transplant waiting list: A systematic review
Thais Mellato Loschi, Melline D T A Baccan, Bianca Della Guardia, Paulo N Martins, Amanda P C S Boteon, Yuri L Boteon
Thais Mellato Loschi, Melline D T A Baccan, Bianca Della Guardia, Amanda P C S Boteon, Yuri L Boteon, Transplant Centre, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo 05652-900, Brazil
Thais Mellato Loschi, Yuri L Boteon, Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein, Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein, São Paulo 05652-900, Brazil
Paulo N Martins, Department of Surgery, Transplant Division, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, United States
Author contributions: Loschi TM and Boteon YL designed this study and drafted the manuscript; Loschi TM and Baccan MDTA performed the literature review and analysis; Loschi TM, Baccan MDTA, Della Guardia B, Martins PN, Boteon APCS, Boteon YL reviewed the manuscript critically; and all authors contributed to editing and approved the final manuscript version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yuri L Boteon, FACS, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Surgeon, Transplant Centre, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, 2nd Floor, Building A1, Office 200B, 627/701 Albert Einstein Avenue, São Paulo 05652-900, Brazil. yuri.boteon@einstein.br
Received: August 25, 2023
Peer-review started: August 25, 2023
First decision: September 15, 2023
Revised: September 21, 2023
Accepted: October 8, 2023
Article in press: October 8, 2023
Published online: October 27, 2023
Core Tip

Core Tip: Frailty negatively affects the outcomes of patients waiting for liver transplants (LTs). However, the tools used to assess frailty and functional performance vary amongst the existing studies, limiting the estimation of the real and accurate prevalence of the condition and the effectiveness of proposed treatments. So far, existing studies suggest that exercise may improve cirrhotic patients’ functional capacity and frailty while they are on the waiting list for LTs. In addition, although evidence is scarce, studies affirm that exercise training improves pre- and post-LT outcomes.