Fatigue Effects in Daily Life Activities of Kidney Transplant Recipients

After undergoing kidney transplantation, some patients still face one symptom that continues after the dialysis sessions: fatigue (physical and mental tiredness that does not get better after resting). Fatigue effects in the everyday lives of kidney transplant patients can be beneficially modified early by changing this scenario. This is a quantitative study about the intensity and impacts of fatigue in kidney transplant patients admitted to the Hypertension and Kidney Hospital from October 2011 to March 2012. The fatigue pictogram was used to evaluate the level of fatigue interference in the daily life activities of kidney transplant patients. The sample consists of 39 patients, and was developed in 2 phases: data collection and attendance after and before the transplantation until hospital discharge. Descriptive statistical analyses were used. In the group at issue, we have noticed the following profile of the sample: 84.3% of transplantations with live donors, most were men, average age 36.5 years old, average hospitalization time 11.1 days, average time of renal failure 66.4 months, systemic arterial hypertension prevalence 66.7%, and the prevalence of at least 1.8 diseases in each individual. The self-referred causes of chronic renal failure were uncontrolled systemic arterial hypertension, glomerulonephritis, and overuse of anti-inflammatory drugs, among others. The study shows that fatigue is directly related to the level of activities of daily living, causing less ability to perform activities in the higher level of fatigue, which is in the immediate postoperative period and only settling fully on the 9th postoperative day.