Assessment of the Impact of Fatigue on the Degree of Dependance in Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Background: Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) go through a number of physical and emotional symptoms that can interfere with their comfort and quality of life, a common symptom is tiredness, a condition which is conventionally called post dialysis fatigue (PDF). Therefore, the objective is to evaluate the relationship between fatigue and the degree of dependence in performing basic and instrumental activities of daily living on patients undergoing hemodialysis. Method: Cross-sectional study, carried out at the hemodialysis unit of Hospital São Lucas da Pontificia Universidad Católica do Rio Grande do Sul.. The study reporting adheres to the STROBE checklist. Results: From the 101 patients interviewed, 63 (62.4%) had post dialysis fatigue, with a mean age of 59±7 years, where the majority were men with 66.3% (n=67).  The presence of PDF was related to vintage on HD (p<0,041), session recovery time (p<0,000) and shift of the session (p<0.001). There was no association of PDF with the degree of dependence on basic and instrumental activities of daily living. Conclusion: More than half of the patients on HD experience PDF, it is less frequent in patients dialyzing in the night shift and it is associated with dialysis vintage and with greater recovery time.