Post-dialysis fatigue is relatively common and is particularly frustrating and debilitating. Lindsay et al. have recently shown that the response to a simple question “How long does it take you to recover from a dialysis session?”, that gives in minutes the time to recover from HD (TIRD), was interpreted easily, was easy to which to respond, and had a statistically significant negative correlations with all but one of the SF-36 subscales. Possibly, a correlation may exist between TIRD and appetite in patients on chronic hemodialysis.The aim of this study was to assess the appetite by using a simple questionnaire and to examine the associations between self-reported appetite and the TIRD.
All patients on chronic hemodialysis at the Hemodialysis Service of the Catholic University of Rome underwent assessment of appetite through the first three questions of the Hemodialysis Study Appetite questionnaire, TIRD (through the question “How long does it take you to recover from a dialysis session?”), number and severity of comorbidities through the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), daily activities through the ADL (activities of daily living) and the IADL (instrumental activities of daily living).
We studied 106 patients. According to the Appetite questionnaire, in 45 patients the appetite was very good or good (Group 1), in 33 fair (Group 2) and in 28 poor or very poor (Group 3). Age, CCI, TIRD and serum PTH levels were significantly higher in group 3 than in group 1 and 2 while the IADL was significantly lower. Age, CCI, TIRD, IADL and serum PTH were significantly correlated with appetite. At multiple regression analysis, TIRD and CCI only were independently correlated with appetite.
Poor appetite is independently associated with the time of recovery after the hemodialysis session.
