Effective factors on fatigue in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis

Fatigue is a common complaint and debilitating symptom in dialysis patients that has a considerable effect on quality of life and well being. The purpose of this study was measurement of fatigue and its related factors in patients with chronic renal failure receiving hemodialysis. This descriptive correlation study performed in one of the Medical Universities of Tehran in 2009. 56 hemodialysis patients were selected by simple achievable sampling method. Data was collected by fatigue severity scale (FSS) and personal information questionnaires included demographic, disease information and paraclinical findings. Data was analyzed by SPSS 14 software and paired T-test and ANOVA. The fatigue score mean of the patients was 5.1. Women, widow and people without job reported higher fatigue. By reducing the level of education and income and increasing the age, dialysis history and risk of chronic renal failure the fatigue increased; These differences were significant only in terms of gender, income and history of chronic renal failure. Mean of fatigue was insignificantly decreased in patients with hemoglobin equal to 12-14 gr/dl, systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg, urea <30 and creatinine 6-8 mgr∕dl. Most hemodialysis patients suffer from high scores of fatigue. In order to improve patient care and promote patients quality of life, nurses should identify fatigue, high risk patients and strategies for decrease it.