Fatigue in the elderly undergoing chemotherapy

This is a cross-sectional survey conducted from August to December 2010, which aimed to identify the presence and severity of fatigue in 140 elderly (mean age 69.8 years, 52.1% female) diagnosed with cancer undergoing chemotherapy in an outpatient unit. It was used a questionnaire for sociodemograph...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista brasileira de enfermagem 2014-07, Vol.67 (4), p.623
Main Authors: Mansano-Schlosser, Thalyta Cristina, Ceolim, Maria Filomena
Format: Article
Language:Portuguese
Subjects:
Aged
Antineoplastic Agents - adverse effects
Cross-Sectional Studies
Fatigue - diagnosis
Fatigue - epidemiology
Fatigue - etiology
Female
Humans
Male
Neoplasms - complications
Neoplasms - drug therapy
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Summary:This is a cross-sectional survey conducted from August to December 2010, which aimed to identify the presence and severity of fatigue in 140 elderly (mean age 69.8 years, 52.1% female) diagnosed with cancer undergoing chemotherapy in an outpatient unit. It was used a questionnaire for sociodemographic and clinical data and Piper Fatigue Scale-revised. The presence of fatigue was identified in 60 elderly (42.9%) and the attributed cause was cancer (64.1%), chemotherapy (32.8%) and treatment (3.1%). As relief factors, the elderly respondents reported "sleeping", "pray" and "dying", while 45% of them said "there was nothing to do" because fatigue could not be relieved. We hope that this study will alert the nurses to the relevance of fatigue and encourage them to identify and carry out nursing interventions aimed at proper management of this symptom in elderly cancer patient.
ISSN:0034-7167
DOI:10.1590/0034-7167.2014670419