Assessment of symptoms and quality of life in patients with hemodialysis

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess symptoms and quality of life in patients with hemodialysis Materials and Methods: This study which is descriptive and cross sectional was conducted with 170 patients with hemodialysis at the hemodialysis units in two state hospitals and a private hospital in Manisa. The data were collected by means of patient information form, and Dialysis Symptom Index and Nottingham Health Profile. Descriptive and correlation were used in statistical analysis. Results: The average ages of patients were 52.32±11.69 (23-65) years and %54.7 was male. The most common symptoms experienced by patients were feeling tired or lack of energy about 75.3%, decreased interest in sex 65.9%, difficulty becoming sexually aroused about 65.3% and feeling nervous about 62.4%. It was found that the subscales scores of Nottingham Health Profile were 36.07±40.39 for energy level, 9.4±20.82 for pain, 29.53±30.44 for emotional reaction, 26.06±34.94 for sleep, 22.30±26.84 for social isolation and 30.74±31.67 for physical mobility, respectively. A positive correlation was defined between Dialysis Symptom Index and Nottingham Health Profile. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that energy and physical activity were the most affected area in the lives of the patients who underwent hemodialysis treatment and their quality of life was adversely affected as the dialysis symptoms increased. Key words: Acute kidney injury, psychological well being, social well being, signs and symptoms, renal dialysis