Uslu Arzu, Canbolat Ozlem
Faculty of Nursing, Department of Internal Medicine Nursing, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
Faculty of Health Science, Department of Internal Medicine Nursing, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Semin Oncol Nurs. 2021 Aug;37(4):151179. doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2021.151179. Epub 2021 Jul 16.
Older patients with cancer present many symptoms during treatment. One of those symptoms is fatigue, which may be caused by factors unrelated to cancer. One of those factors is frailty increased with age. Frailty and fatigue affect older patients with cancer physically, psychosocially, emotionally, and spiritually. This study investigated the relationship between frailty and fatigue in older patients with cancer.
This descriptive study was conducted between July 15, 2019, and February 15, 2020, in the medical oncology polyclinic and the medical oncology outpatient treatment unit of a university hospital. The sample consisted of voluntary 288 patients who met inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS), and the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS).
The mean age of participants was 71.71 ± 5.29 years. Participants had a mean EFS score of 6 ± 3.21. Of participants, 36.1% were not frail, while 20.1% were vulnerable, 19.1% moderately frail, 17.7% mildly frail, and 6.9% severely frail. Participants had a mean CFS score of 21.41 ± 12.25. There was a positive correlation between EFS and CFS scores (P = .000, r = 0.734). Of participants, 63.8% were frail with physical and cognitive fatigue. The higher the frailty, the higher the fatigue.
Elderly patients with cancer appear to be fragile, with frailty causing fatigue and many other conditions. It is important to determine the frailty and fatigue of elderly patients with cancer. It is essential understand the relationship between the frailty and fatigue for effective and correct management of nursing care.
老年癌症患者在治疗期间会出现多种症状。其中一种症状是疲劳，这可能由与癌症无关的因素引起。这些因素之一是随着年龄增长而增加的虚弱。虚弱和疲劳会在身体、心理、情感和精神上影响老年癌症患者。本研究调查了老年癌症患者虚弱与疲劳之间的关系。
这项描述性研究于2019年7月15日至2020年2月15日在一所大学医院的肿瘤内科门诊和肿瘤内科门诊治疗单元进行。样本包括288名符合纳入标准的自愿参与者。使用人口统计学问卷、埃德蒙顿虚弱量表（EFS）和癌症疲劳量表（CFS）收集数据。
参与者的平均年龄为71.71±5.29岁。参与者的EFS平均得分为6±3.21。在参与者中，36.1%不虚弱，20.1%易损，19.1%中度虚弱，17.7%轻度虚弱，6.9%重度虚弱。参与者的CFS平均得分为21.41±12.25。EFS和CFS得分之间存在正相关（P = 0.000，r = 0.734）。在参与者中，63.8%因身体和认知疲劳而虚弱。虚弱程度越高，疲劳程度越高。
老年癌症患者似乎很脆弱，虚弱会导致疲劳和许多其他状况。确定老年癌症患者的虚弱和疲劳很重要。了解虚弱与疲劳之间的关系对于有效和正确地管理护理至关重要。
