Symptom clusters among patients with maintenance hemodialysis

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the incidence and severity of symptoms of maintenance hemodialysis（MHD） and to discuss the classification and construction of symptom clusters. Methods：Totally 280 patients with MHD in hemodialysis center of 4 first-class hos－pitals in Chongqing were enrolled and investigated by completing dialysis symptom index and a self-designed general information questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics，correlation analysis and factor analysis. Results：Dry skin（75.7%），itching（73.2%），decreased interest in sex（70.5%），trouble staying sleep（63.2%），trouble falling sleep（62.5%） were the five most prevalent symptoms. The top five severe symptoms experienced by participants were itching，dry skin，dry mouth，trouble falling sleep，trouble staying sleep. Factors analysis indicated five symptom clusters，namely emotion，pain fatigue，digestive tract，cardiopulmonary system，water electrolyte，accounting for 58.68% of the total variance. Conclusions：Patients with MHD experienced several symptom clusters，medical staff should construct targeted nursing interventions to ensure the effective symptom management and improve patients’ life quality.