#6837 association between self-reported fatigue and the need for recovery time after the maintenance hemodialysis session: prohemo

Abstract Background and Aims Fatigue and the need for recovery time after a hemodialysis session are frequent complaints in patients with chronic kidney disease treated with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). In the present study, we investigated whether there is an association between self-reported fatigue and the need for recovery time after HDM sessions. Method This is a cross-sectional study with data from 239 adult patients participating in the prospective cohort study “Prognostic Study of Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis” (PROHEMO), developed in Salvador, BA, Brazil. We used “The Chalder Fatigue” questionnaire (CFQ-11) to calculate fatigue scores. CFQ-11 scores can range from 0 to 33; Higher scores mean more intense fatigue. Fatigue was categorized as: absent or mild if the score was <4 and moderate to severe if the score was ≥4. To assess the need for recovery time from hemodialysis, participants answered a question: After finishing dialysis, do you usually need some time to recover? with two answer options (yes or no). We used logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of the association between fatigue and need for recovery after hemodialysis, with adjustments for age, sex, diabetes, and heart failure. Results The mean age was 52.5 ± 12.5 years, 57.7% were men, 94.5% were non-white. Self-reported fatigue as absent or mild was 28.4% (68/233) and moderate to severe fatigue was 71.5% (171/233). The prevalence of need for recovery time after hemodialysis was 2.5 times higher in patients with moderate to severe fatigue (prevalence: 51.5%) than in patients with no or mild fatigue (prevalence: 20.6%); prevalence ratio: 2.50 (95% confidence interval: 1.53; 4.08). In logistic regression, an association between moderate to severe fatigue and need for recovery was observed even after adjusting for the effects of age, sex, diabetes, and heart failure (OR = 4.36; 95% CI: 2.21; 8.59). Conclusion The results suggest that patients who report a more intense degree of fatigue, more often have a greater need for time to recover after the end of the hemodialysis session. It is interesting to investigate whether interventions that reduce fatigue in patients undergoing MHD treatment result in a reduction in the need for recovery time after the hemodialysis session.