Division of Physical Activity, Prevention and Cancer, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Epidemiological Cancer Registry Baden-Württemberg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Support Care Cancer. 2021 Apr;29(4):2063-2071. doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05686-5. Epub 2020 Aug 29.
This study aimed to assess cancer patients' knowledge and perceptions regarding fatigue and to provide up-to-date information on the current fatigue management from the patients' perspective.
The FiX study recruited 2508 cancer patients approximately 2 years after diagnosis via a cancer registry in Germany. Participants completed a questionnaire on their knowledge and perceptions of fatigue and the management received.
More than half of respondents (58%), especially among the elderly patients, did not feel well informed about fatigue. Overall, 41% reported having never been asked about being exhausted by their treating physician. Even fewer patients stated that general practitioners or nurses have asked if they felt exhausted. Only 13% of patients who had experienced severe fatigue had received a fatigue assessment by means of a rating scale or questionnaire-although this is recommended by existing guidelines for fatigue screening. Health care professionals seemed less likely to address fatigue with elderly as well as female patients. The most commonly reported measure against fatigue was exercise or regular physical activity (68%). However, this was mostly done on patients' own initiative. Psychological support was rarely used (13%) and only in approximately half of the cases upon the advice of a physician. Yoga, another promising intervention against fatigue, was performed by only 9% of patients.
Our study indicates deficits in terms of knowledge, education, screening, counseling, and treatment for fatigue and highlights starting points for targeted improvements in fatigue management based on patients' needs.
本研究旨在评估癌症患者对疲劳的认知和看法，并从患者角度提供有关当前疲劳管理的最新信息。
FiX 研究通过德国癌症登记处招募了 2508 名癌症患者，这些患者大约在确诊后 2 年接受了调查。参与者完成了一份关于他们对疲劳的认知和看法以及所接受的管理的问卷。
超过一半的受访者（58%），尤其是老年患者，对疲劳的认知并不完善。总体而言，41%的受访者表示从未被治疗医生询问过是否疲惫不堪。更少的患者表示全科医生或护士曾询问过他们是否感到疲惫。只有 13%经历过严重疲劳的患者接受过疲劳评估，尽管这是现有疲劳筛查指南所建议的。医疗保健专业人员似乎不太可能关注老年患者和女性患者的疲劳问题。最常报告的疲劳缓解措施是运动或定期体育活动（68%），但这主要是患者主动进行的。很少使用心理支持（13%），而且只有约一半的情况是在医生建议下使用。瑜伽是另一种对抗疲劳的有前途的干预措施，只有 9%的患者接受过瑜伽治疗。
我们的研究表明，在疲劳的知识、教育、筛查、咨询和治疗方面存在不足，并根据患者的需求强调了在疲劳管理方面进行有针对性改进的起点。
