What is it about?
Patients on dialysis do poorly (low quality of life). One of the reasons is a high burden of symptoms. Symptoms persist not only because they are hard to treat, but also because they are poorly recognised. This study documented symptoms and quality of life. We then tested to see if nurses or doctors recognised these symptoms well enough - and found that they didn't. Nurses did marginally better than doctors. We think the best option for gaining a complete picture is to have patients complete a written symptom survey when they go to their doctor.
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Why is it important?
We demonstrate the high symptom burden, its poor recognition by healthcare staff and a low quality of life in dialysis patients. This is important in our times, as numbers of older patients on dialysis increase worldwide - we need understanding that there are compromises to be made to undertake regular dialysis. Our study points to one aspect of what is not 'ideal' about life on dialysis, and suggests a method to improve this (i.e., a written survey rather than the usual clinic conversation)
Perspectives
As a renal physician, I am struck by how little we know about the actual experience of dialysis our patients face. We have so many things to do around these patients - the 'medical aspects' of dialysis - that we often do not take enough 'notice' of the individual patient's suffering, or his/her need for relief.
Rajesh Raj
Launceston General Hospital
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Symptoms and their recognition in adult haemodialysis patients: Interactions with quality of life, Nephrology, February 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/nep.12754.
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