CN65 - Assessment of fatigue in elderly hospitalized cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: A pilot study

Background

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms experienced by elderly cancer patients. This study aims to assess fatigue in elderly hospitalized cancer patients and the factors influencing it.

Methods

This pilot study was performed in a large hospital in a major city in Northern Greece. Fifty elderly cancer patients were chosen for the research through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Cancer Fatigue Scale and a questionnaire with demographic and clinical characteristics.

Results

The mean age of patients was 76.16 ± 9.77 years. Most were widowed (n=22, 44%) and retired (n=39, 78%). The mean score of the total Cancer Fatigue Scale was 40.16 ± 11.22. Comparison between fatigue and clinical-demographic characteristics revealed statistically significant differences between previous therapy (surgical removal of the tumor or radiotherapy) and the physical dimension of fatigue (p = 0.02) and the existence of metastases and total fatigue (p = 0.02). Furthermore, the factors influencing the patients’ total fatigue were examined using clinical and demographic characteristics. However, when these variables were added as predictors of fatigue into a regression model (R² = 0,29, p < 0,01) to assess their predictive power, two of them significantly predicted the depression score [Metastasis existence (b = 0.51) and comorbidity of diabetes (b=0.48)].

Conclusions

Elderly cancer patients experience fatigue during hospitalization. Certain clinical characteristics affect this symptom. Therefore, Greek nurses should take into account the findings of this study and design appropriate care plans and interventions to alleviate the fatigue problem.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.