ABSTRACT
A caregiver attends to the needs or concerns of someone limited by disease, injury, or disability to enhance the patient's quality of life, which can be assessed in three areas: social, physical, and psychological. This cross-sectional study assessed the extent of burden experienced by the caregivers of patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy in King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Zarit Burden Interview Arabic Abridged version (ZBI-A) was used to assess the level of burden experienced by caregivers. The data was collected and examined by professionals using the SPSS version 23. Based on the data of 50 participants, a mean ZBI-12 score of 12.22 ± 7.2 was reported. According to the ZBI scale, "No to mild burden," "Mild to moderate burden," and "High burden" were reported as 46% (n = 23), 38% (n = 19), and 16% (n = 8) of participants, respectively. The internal consistency of the ZBI-12 scale, assessed using Cronbach's alpha, was 0.664, indicating a satisfactory level of internal consistency. It was determined that caregivers of individuals undergoing PD and HD encounter different degrees of burden, with a significant proportion of caregivers experiencing a substantial burden.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The quality of life (QoL) of patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) who undergo dialysis is a reliable predictor of their long-term survival. Hemodialysis is the most common form of kidney replacement therapy for ESKD, followed by peritoneal dialysis. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting QoL in ESKD patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between June and July 2021 to assess the QoL of patients with ESKD who underwent peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. Patients who had been on dialysis for at least one year were included. The Arabic version of the Quality of Life Index-Dialysis (QLI-D) version III was used to measure the QoL. RESULTS: A total of 210 patients completed the questionnaire. The overall QLI score was 21.73 ± 4.2, with subscales for health and functioning (20.35 ± 5.2), social and economic (20.20 ± 4.8), psychological/spiritual (23.94 ± 4.9), and family (24.95 ± 4.5). The QLI scores for PD and HD patients were 21.80 ± 4.4 and 21.72 ± 4.1, respectively. SOCSUB (p = 0.031) was significantly associated with group and income, whereas QLI (p = 0.003), HFSUB (p = 0.013), SOCSUB (p = 0.002), and PSPSUB (p = 0.003) were significantly correlated with group and years of dialysis. CONCLUSION: The study found that patients were most satisfied with their family, health and functioning, and social/economic subscales. Income and years of dialysis were found to be predictive factors of QoL. Overall, peritoneal patients in this study demonstrated a better QoL than HD patients.
ABSTRACT
Background: Limited studies from Saudi Arabia have assessed the quality of life (QoL) of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients on hemodialysis and its associated factors. Objective: To determine the physical, psychological, familial, and social factors that impact the QoL of ESKD patients in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included adult patients with ESKD who underwent hemodialysis at King Salman Center for Kidney Disease and King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between June and July 2021, and had been on dialysis for ≥1 year were included. The Arabic version of the Quality of Life Index-Dialysis (QLI-D) version III was used, which has four sub-scales. Results: A total of 173 respondents completed the questionnaire. The overall mean (±SD) QoL score was 22.2 (±4.30), while the scores for the sub-scales ranged from 20.8 (±5.25) (Health and Functioning subscale) to 26.0 (Family subscale). Respondents aged >70 years had significantly lower average score (P < 0.05) and lower Health and Functioning subscale score (P < 0.05). Education and higher income had significant positive correlation with the Social and Economic subscale (r = 0.234, P < 0.01; and r = 0.162, P < 0.05, respectively). Diabetes was significantly associated with lower scores in the Health and Functioning subscale (P < 0.05). There was a positive linear trend in the association between the number of years on dialysis and the overall QLI-D score and the subscales of QLI-D (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Higher education level and income and longer duration of dialysis were factors associated with better QoL, while older age and having diabetes were associated with poorer QoL. Awareness among healthcare providers regarding these factors can help improve the QoL of these patients.
ABSTRACT
Pruritus is one of the most debilitating symptoms for patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB). This study aimed to assess the burden of itch and to address its dimensions across patients with EB. Forty-six patients with EB were recruited from the Saudi EB registry to participate. All participants completed the Leuven Itch Scale. The sample included 5 patients with EB simplex (EBS), 3 with junctional EB (JEB), 34 with dystrophic EB (DEB), and 4 patients had unknown type. Overall, 97.8% patients reported itch. In patients with itch, 73.3% reported that it was often or always present, longer than 2h Itch episodes was reported by JEB (66.7%) and recessive DEB (3.2%). Itch, in all its dimensions, was worst in patients with JEB and DEB than EBS. Itch occurred mostly in a hot environment (80%), when sweating (71.1%), in healing wounds (40%), and during dressing change (35.6%) whereas cold environment resulted in itch in only (2.2%). The burden of pruritus increased with increasing age. This study highlights a challenging area in EB care with a need for specific treatments.
