Prehabilitation for Patients with Brain Tumours: A Single-Centre Retrospective Cohort Study

Patients following brain tumour resection experience significant disability, yet rehabilitation is not typically delivered prior to adjuvant treatment such as radiation or chemotherapy. This study aims to characterize the medical and functional profiles, and function outcomes of patients with brain tumour admitted over the past four years to a pilot inpatient prehabilitation programme following brain tumour resection but prior to adjuvant therapy, and to compare these findings with those of patients in a standard acquired brain injury rehabilitation programme. We retrospectively reviewed the charts from a randomly selected sample of 58 prehabilitation inpatients and 112 patients with acquired brain injuries at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute between March 2020 and December 2024. Data abstracted included demographics, medical and functional profiles, Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores, and discharge parameters. Compared with acquired brain injury subjects, prehabilitation subjects had significantly less physical (47% vs. 86%, p < 0.0001) but more communication (46% vs. 20%, p = 0.0005) impairments, though with similar mean FIM change (22.5 vs. 26.0, p = 0.082) and FIM efficiency (1.1 vs. 1.0, p = 0.78). While not reaching significance, they also experienced more mood issues during rehabilitation (30% vs. 18%, p = 0.075). These findings support that prehabilitation after brain tumour surgery but before adjuvant therapy is clinically effective within existing ABI rehabilitation programmes. However, prehabilitation programmes may benefit from staffing models that emphasize communication supports and mental health expertise.