Fatigue in CKD

Author(s):  
L. Parker Gregg ◽  
Maurizio Bossola ◽  
Mauricio Ostrosky-Frid ◽  
S. Susan Hedayati

Fatigue is a commonly reported and debilitating symptom among patients with CKD, yet little is known about its epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Various measurement tools have been used in published studies to identify and quantify fatigue. These include several single-item measures embedded in longer questionnaires for assessing depression, quality of life, or symptom burden in patients with kidney disease. Approximately 70% of patients with CKD report fatigue, with up to 25% reporting severe symptoms. Patient-reported fatigue is associated with death, dialysis initiation, and hospitalization among individuals with CKD. The pathophysiology is multifactorial and likely includes decreased oxygen delivery and increased reliance on anaerobic metabolism, thus generating lactic acidosis in response to exertion; the effects of chronic metabolic acidosis and hyperphosphatemia on skeletal muscle myocytes; protein-energy wasting and sarcopenia; and depression. Physical activity has been shown to improve fatigue in some small but promising trials, and so should be recommended, given the additional benefits of exercise. Targeting higher hemoglobin levels with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents may improve fatigue, but potential adverse cardiovascular effects preclude their use to solely treat fatigue without the presence of another indication. Current guidelines recommend cautious individualization of hemoglobin targets for those at low cardiovascular risk who still experience fatigue or functional limitation despite a hemoglobin level of 10 g/dl. Sodium bicarbonate supplementation for the treatment of metabolic acidosis may also improve functional status. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have not been consistently shown to improve fatigue in patients with kidney disease, but an ongoing trial will evaluate the effect of alternative antidepressant drug and behavioral activation therapy on fatigue in patients with CKD. Overall, more research is needed to further clarify underlying mechanisms of fatigue and identify effective, targeted treatments for patients with CKD.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii86-ii86
Author(s):  
Dorothee Gramatzki ◽  
James Rogers ◽  
Marian Neidert ◽  
Caroline Hertler ◽  
Emilie Le Rhun ◽  
...  

Abstract PURPOSE Antidepressant drugs have shown anti-tumor activity in preclinical glioblastoma studies. Antidepressant drug use, as well as its association with survival, in glioblastoma patients has not been well characterized on a population level. METHODS Patient characteristics, including the frequency of antidepressant drug use, were assessed in a glioblastoma cohort diagnosed in a 10-year time-frame between 2005 and 2014 in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied for multivariate analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate overall survival data and the log-rank test was performed for comparisons. RESULTS Four hundred four patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wildtype glioblastoma were included in this study. Sixty-five patients (16.1%) took antidepressant drugs at some point during the disease course. Patients were most commonly prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors at any time (N=46, 70.8%). Nineteen patients (29.2%) were on antidepressant drugs at the time of their tumor diagnosis. No differences were observed in overall survival between those patients who had taken antidepressants at some point in their disease course and those who had not (p=0.356). These data were confirmed in a multivariate analysis including age, Karnofsky performance status, gender, extent of resection, O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status, and first-line treatment as cofounders (p=0.315). Also, there was no association of use of drugs modulating voltage-dependent potassium channels (citalopram; escitalopram) with survival (p=0.639). CONCLUSIONS This signal-seeking study does not support the hypothesis that antidepressants have antitumor efficacy in glioblastoma on a population level.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Wilkinson ◽  
Daniel G. D. Nixon ◽  
Jared Palmer ◽  
Courtney J. Lightfoot ◽  
Alice C. Smith

Abstract Background Those living with kidney disease (KD) report extensive symptom burden. However, research into how symptoms change across stages is limited. The aims of this study were to 1) describe symptom burden across disease trajectory, and 2) to explore whether symptom burden is unique to KD when compared to a non-KD population. Methods Participants aged > 18 years with a known diagnosis of KD (including haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD)) and with a kidney transplant) completed the Leicester Kidney Symptom Questionnaire (KSQ). A non-KD group was recruited as a comparative group. Multinominal logistic regression modelling was used to test the difference in likelihood of those with KD reporting each symptom. Results In total, 2279 participants were included in the final analysis (age 56.0 (17.8) years, 48% male). The main findings can be summarised as: 1) the number of symptoms increases as KD severity progresses; 2) those with early stage KD have a comparable number of symptoms to those without KD; 3) apart from those receiving PD, the most frequently reported symptom across every other group, including the non-KD group, was ‘feeling tired’; and 4) being female independently increased the likelihood of reporting more symptoms. Conclusions Our findings have important implications for patients with KD. We have shown that high symptom burden is prevalent across the spectrum of disease, and present novel data on symptoms experienced in those without KD. Symptoms requiring the most immediate attention given their high prevalence may include pain and fatigue. Trial registration The study was registered prospectively as ISRCTN11596292.


Author(s):  
Wouter R Verberne ◽  
Iris D van den Wittenboer ◽  
Carlijn G N Voorend ◽  
Alferso C Abrahams ◽  
Marjolijn van Buren ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Non-dialytic conservative care (CC) has been proposed as a viable alternative to maintenance dialysis for selected older patients to treat end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). This systematic review compares both treatment pathways on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms, which are major outcomes for patients and clinicians when deciding on preferred treatment. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Plus and PsycINFO from inception to 1 October 2019 for studies comparing patient-reported HRQoL outcomes or symptoms between patients who chose either CC or dialysis for ESKD. Results Eleven observational cohort studies were identified comprising 1718 patients overall. There were no randomized controlled trials. Studies were susceptible to selection bias and confounding. In most studies, patients who chose CC were older and had more comorbidities and worse functional status than patients who chose dialysis. Results were broadly consistent across studies, despite considerable clinical and methodological heterogeneity. Patient-reported physical health outcomes and symptoms appeared to be worse in patients who chose CC compared with patients who chose dialysis but had not yet started, but similar compared with patients on dialysis. Mental health outcomes were similar between patients who chose CC or dialysis, including before and after dialysis start. In patients who chose dialysis, the burden of kidney disease and impact on daily life increased after dialysis start. Conclusions The available data, while heterogeneous, suggest that in selected older patients, CC has the potential to achieve similar HRQoL and symptoms compared with a dialysis pathway. High-quality prospective studies are needed to confirm these provisional findings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 161 (5) ◽  
pp. 890-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie M. Phillips ◽  
Eric Barbarite ◽  
Lloyd P. Hoehle ◽  
David S. Caradonna ◽  
Stacey T. Gray ◽  
...  

Objective Acute exacerbation of chronic rhinosinusitis (AECRS) is associated with significant quality-of-life decreases. We sought to determine characteristics associated with an exacerbation-prone phenotype in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Study Design Cross-sectional. Setting Tertiary care rhinology clinic. Subjects Patients with CRS (N = 209). Methods Patient-reported number of sinus infections, CRS-related antibiotics, and CRS-related oral corticosteroids taken in the last 12 months were used as metrics for AECRS frequency. Sinonasal symptom burden was assessed with the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). Ninety patients reporting 0 for all AECRS metrics were considered to have had no AECRS in the prior 12 months. A total of 119 patients reported >3 on at least 1 AECRS metric and were considered as having an exacerbation-prone phenotype. Characteristics associated with patients with an exacerbation-prone phenotype were identified with exploratory regression analysis. Results An exacerbation-prone phenotype was positively associated with comorbid asthma (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj] = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.42-9.50, P = .007) and SNOT-22 (ORadj = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04-1.09, P < .001). Polyps were negatively associated (ORadj = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.11-0.68, P = .005) with an exacerbation-prone phenotype. SNOT-22 score ≥24 identified patients with an exacerbation-prone phenotype with a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 57.8%. Having either a SNOT-22 score ≥24 with a nasal subdomain score ≥12 or a SNOT-22 score ≥24 with an ear/facial discomfort subdomain score ≥3 provided >80% sensitivity and specificity for detecting patients prone to exacerbation. Conclusions In total, these results point to a CRS exacerbation-prone phenotype characterized by high sinonasal disease burden with comorbid asthma but interestingly without polyps.


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