Exercise Capacity and Training Programs in Paediatric Fontan Patients: A Systematic Review

Importance of Physical Activity and Exercise in Paediatric Fontan Patients

“…Herrmann and Selamet Tierney 16 systematically reviewed research studies indexed in the PubMed Medline or Embase databases between 1990 and 2021. Their search terms combined Fontan with exercise, exercise capacity, exercise training, exercise intervention, exercise therapy, or exercise rehabilitation.…”

“…The review by Herrmann and Selamet Tierney 16 identified 59 studies examining the exercise capacity or exercise training programmes among paediatric Fontan patients. The studies were highly variable in terms of methodology, sample size, and assessment parameters that limited direct comparisons.…”

“…Their systematic review supported the efficacy and safety of exercise training and included 16 paediatric studies with a total of 65 Fontan patients. 13 Minamisawa et al 14 also reported the benefits of home exercise programmes for paediatric Fontan patients in their small case series, results that have subsequently been confirmed through 5 larger studies (total of 120 Fontan patients) reviewed by Meyer et al 15 In the most recent systematic review, Herrmann and Selamet Tierney 16 (see the article in this issue) contribute new knowledge by examining a wide variety of supervised and home exercise training programmes, including motor skill development and strength training. They have also uniquely considered studies specific to paediatric Fontan patients as distinct from adults.…”