School of Music and Performing Arts, Federal University of Goias, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
J Clin Nurs. 2013 Oct;22(19-20):2679-86. doi: 10.1111/jocn.12236. Epub 2013 May 8.
To assess the profile, evaluation criteria and fatigue treatment.
Fatigue, characterised by tiredness, weakness or lack of energy, involves physical, cognitive and emotional aspects. Its aetiology is not well defined and the prevalence ranges from 30-70% in women with breast cancer, reaching up to 80% when they are undergoing radiotherapy. This is one of the most frequent side effects of radiotherapy, and it may interfere with self-esteem, social activities and quality of life.
Literature systematic review.
A search for studies published from 2000-2010 was carried out in Pubmed, Scielo and Bireme databases, using the descriptors fatigue and radiotherapy and their correlates in Portuguese.
We selected 12 articles of 1085 found. The number of studies involving breast cancer was higher than those related to gynaecological cancer. Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue was the most used scale specifically for the evaluation of fatigue. Pretreatment fatigue level may be an important risk factor to aggravate it during radiotherapy and decrease the quality of life. Five studies proposed interventions, all of them involving nonpharmacological therapies: cognitive-behavioural therapy associated with hypnosis, moderate-intensity physical exercises, stretching programmes, yoga and polarity therapy. The studies showed good results in relation to fatigue, physical and psychological aspects, and quality of life.
Early detection of fatigue, using appropriate scales, is relevant to propose suitable treatments and achieve better clinical conditions, adherence and continuity of radiotherapy treatment, aiming to ensure more effective responses.
Fatigue is a frequent symptom in patients undergoing radiotherapy. It may become a factor that limits or prevents the continuity of radiotherapy and therefore should be diagnosed in the initial appointments, so that it can be properly treated.
评估特征、评估标准和疲劳治疗。
疲劳表现为疲倦、虚弱或缺乏能量，涉及身体、认知和情感方面。其病因尚未明确，乳腺癌患者的患病率为 30-70%，接受放疗时可达 80%。这是放疗最常见的副作用之一，可能会影响自尊心、社交活动和生活质量。
文献系统评价。
在 Pubmed、Scielo 和 Bireme 数据库中，使用疲劳和放疗及其葡萄牙语相关词进行了 2000-2010 年发表的研究搜索。
我们从 1085 项研究中选择了 12 项。涉及乳腺癌的研究数量多于妇科癌症的研究数量。癌症治疗功能评估-疲劳量表是评估疲劳的最常用量表。治疗前的疲劳水平可能是加重放疗期间疲劳并降低生活质量的重要危险因素。五项研究提出了干预措施，均涉及非药物治疗：认知行为疗法联合催眠、中强度体育锻炼、伸展计划、瑜伽和极性疗法。这些研究在疲劳、身体和心理方面以及生活质量方面均显示出良好的结果。
使用适当的量表早期发现疲劳，提出适当的治疗方法，以获得更好的临床状况、放疗治疗的依从性和连续性，从而确保更有效的反应，这是非常重要的。
疲劳是接受放疗的患者常见的症状。它可能成为限制或阻止放疗连续性的因素，因此应在初始预约中进行诊断，以便进行适当的治疗。
