Yu-Ying Chou, MSN, RN PhD Student, School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei. Yeur-Hur Lai, PhD, RN Professor and Director, School of Nursing, College of Medicine, School of Nursing, NTU Hospital, National Taiwan University, Taipei. Shoei-Shen Wang, MD, PhD Attending Physician, Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, and Director of Heart Transplantation and Heart-Lung Transplantation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei. Shiow-Ching Shun, PhD, RN Associate Professor, School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2017 Nov/Dec;32(6):551-559. doi: 10.1097/JCN.0000000000000400.
Fatigue has been identified as a major symptom in heart transplant (HTx) patients; however, researchers have not examined the role of fatigue characteristics (ie, intensity, interference, and duration) in the quality of life (QOL) of HTx patients.
The aim of this study was to explore differences in physical and mental aspects of QOL by patient characteristics, as well as the association between fatigue characteristics and QOL in HTx patients after considering other confounding factors (symptom distress and psychological distress).
A cross-sectional study was conducted in which patients completed the Transplant Symptom Frequency and Symptom Distress Scale, the Fatigue Symptom Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey. Multiple regressions were used to identify factors significantly related to QOL.
A total of 126 patients reported moderate levels of fatigue intensity, mild fatigue interference, and low QOL scores in the physical and mental domains. Patients with better physical and cardiac function and lower symptom distress and fatigue interference had better scores on the physical aspect of QOL (explaining 30.7% of the variance); patients with lower fatigue interference, anxiety, and depression had better scores on the mental aspect of QOL (explaining 50% of the variance).
Fatigue interference had a greater influence on QOL domains than fatigue intensity. The degree to which fatigue interferes with daily life should be assessed, and suitable interventions should be introduced in clinical settings to help patients manage their fatigue and improve their QOL.
疲劳已被确定为心脏移植（HTx）患者的主要症状；然而，研究人员尚未研究疲劳特征（即强度、干扰和持续时间）在 HTx 患者生活质量（QOL）中的作用。
本研究旨在探讨患者特征对 QOL 的身体和心理方面的差异，以及在考虑其他混杂因素（症状困扰和心理困扰）后，疲劳特征与 HTx 患者 QOL 之间的关联。
进行了一项横断面研究，患者完成了移植症状频率和症状困扰量表、疲劳症状量表、医院焦虑和抑郁量表以及 12 项简短健康调查问卷。多元回归用于确定与 QOL 显著相关的因素。
共有 126 名患者报告疲劳强度中度、疲劳干扰轻度和身体和心理领域 QOL 评分低。身体和心脏功能较好、症状困扰和疲劳干扰较低的患者，身体方面的 QOL 评分较高（解释了 30.7%的方差）；疲劳干扰、焦虑和抑郁程度较低的患者，心理方面的 QOL 评分较高（解释了 50%的方差）。
疲劳干扰对 QOL 领域的影响大于疲劳强度。应评估疲劳对日常生活的干扰程度，并在临床环境中引入适当的干预措施，以帮助患者管理疲劳并提高其 QOL。
