Background: Care problems such as decubitus and fall incidents are prevalent in nursing homes. Yet, research regarding explanatory factors on these care problems is scarce. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to identify the degree to which a diverse set of resident-related factors (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To validate an Urgency Classification Model developed for telephone triage in Dutch nursing homes.
Design: Retrospective observational study.
Setting And Participants: Retrospective analysis of triage data of nursing home residents in a medical service organization, active in 40 nursing homes across the Netherlands.
This study evaluates to what extent symptoms are present before, during, and after a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and to evaluate how the symptom burden and quality of Life (QoL) compares to those with a negative PCR test. Participants from the Dutch Lifelines COVID-19 Cohort Study filled-out as of March 2020 weekly, later bi-weekly and monthly, questions about demographics, COVID-19 diagnosis and severity, QoL, and symptoms. The study population included those with one positive or negative PCR test who filled out two questionnaires before and after the test, resulting in 996 SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive and 3978 negative participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fatigue is frequently reported in people with a non-communicable chronic disease. More insight in the nature of this symptom may enhance targeted treatment of fatigue. In this study, we aimed to gain more insight in the prevalence of different types of fatigue and in current prescribed treatment strategies to reduce fatigue in non-communicable chronic diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The psychological impact of COVID-19 can be substantial. However, knowledge about long-term psychological outcomes in patients with COVID-19 is scarce.
Objective: In this longitudinal, observational study, we aimed to reveal symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms of anxiety and depression up to 6 months after the onset of COVID-19-related symptoms in patients with confirmed COVID-19 and persistent complaints.
(1) To evaluate the prevalence of severe and chronic fatigue in subjects with and without chronic disease; (2) to assess to which extent multi-morbidity contributes to severe and chronic fatigue; and (3) to identify predisposing and associated factors for severe and chronic fatigue and whether these are disease-specific, trans-diagnostic, or generic. The Dutch Lifelines cohort was used, including 78,363 subjects with (n = 31,039, 53 ± 12 years, 33% male) and without (n = 47,324, 48 ± 12 years, 46% male) ≥ 1 of 23 chronic diseases. Fatigue was assessed with the Checklist Individual Strength-Fatigue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fatigue is the most commonly reported symptom in patients with persistent complaints following COVID-19 (ie, long COVID). Longitudinal studies examining the intensity of fatigue and differentiating between physical and mental fatigue are lacking.
Objective: The objectives of this study were to (1) assess the severity of fatigue over time in members of online long COVID peer support groups, and (2) assess whether members of these groups experienced mental fatigue, physical fatigue, or both.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
June 2021
A subgroup of patients recovering from COVID-19 experience persistent symptoms, decreased quality of life, increased dependency on others for personal care and impaired performance of activities of daily living. However, the long-term effects of COVID-19 on physical activity (PA) in this subgroup of patients with persistent symptoms remain unclear. Demographics, self-reported average time spent walking per week, as well as participation in activities pre-COVID-19 and after three and six months of follow-up were assessed in members of online long-COVID-19 peer support groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo become a proactive and informed partner in postacute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management, patients need to have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to self-manage COVID-19-related health challenges. Due to several restrictions and consequently social isolation, online platforms and forums where people can share information and experiences became more popular and influential. Therefore, this study aimed to identify perceived information needs and care needs of members of 2 Facebook groups for patients with COVID-19 and persistent complaints in the Netherlands and Belgium and patients with COVID-19 who registered at a website of the Lung Foundation Netherlands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo determine the association between quadriceps muscle strength (QMS) and endurance (QME) and exercise capacity in patients with COPD after stratification for sex and resting lung function (LF). Data were collected from 3,246 patients with COPD (60% men, 64 ± 9 yr), including measures of exercise capacity [peak aerobic capacity (peakV̇o), 6-min walk distance (6MWD)] and isokinetic QMS and QME. Patients were stratified for sex, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (>50/≤50% predicted), single breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (>50/≤50% predicted), and residual volume (>140/≤140% predicted).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It remains unknown whether and to what extent members of online "long COVID" peer support groups remain symptomatic and limited over time. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate symptoms in members of online long COVID peer support groups up to 6 months after the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related symptoms.
Methods: Demographics, symptoms, health status, work productivity, functional status and health-related quality of life were assessed about 3 and 6 months after the onset of COVID-19-related symptoms in members of online long COVID peer support groups.
Background: Fatigue is a distressing symptom in patients with COPD. Little is known about the factors that contribute to fatigue in COPD. This review summarises existing knowledge on the prevalence of fatigue, factors related to fatigue and the instruments most commonly used to assess fatigue in COPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Qual Life Outcomes
February 2021
Background: An increasing number of subjects are recovering from COVID-19, raising the need for tools to adequately assess the course of the disease and its impact on functional status. We aimed to assess the construct validity of the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) Scale among adult subjects with confirmed and presumed COVID-19.
Methods: Adult subjects with confirmed and presumed COVID-19, who were members of an online panel and two Facebook groups for subjects with COVID-19 with persistent symptoms, completed an online survey after the onset of infection-related symptoms.
The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on quality of life appears to be highly underestimated, especially in patients who have not been admitted to the hospital. Therefore, our aim was to assess respiratory-specific quality of life in addition to generic quality of life in former patients with confirmed/suspected COVID-19 who have never been admitted to the hospital. Members of an online Belgian social support group for patients with confirmed/suspected COVID-19 with persistent complaints, completed an online survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many patients with COVID-19 did not require hospitalisation, nor underwent COVID-19 testing. There is anecdotal evidence that patients with "mild" COVID-19 may complain about persistent symptoms, even weeks after the infection. This suggests that symptoms during the infection may not resolve spontaneously.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A large sample of "mild" COVID-19 patients still experience multiple symptoms months after being infected. These persistent symptoms are associated with many clinically relevant outcomes, including poor health status and impaired functional status. To date, no information is available about care dependency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent disease characterized by airflow limitation and is associated with decreased balance and increased fall risk. Since falls are related to increased mortality, interventions targeting balance and fall risk could reduce morbidity and mortality. The objective of this review was to systematically assess the effects of exercise-based interventions on fall risk and balance in patients with COPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this document was to standardise published cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) protocols for improved interpretation in clinical settings and multicentre research projects. This document: 1) summarises the protocols and procedures used in published studies focusing on incremental CPET in chronic lung conditions; 2) presents standard incremental protocols for CPET on a stationary cycle ergometer and a treadmill; and 3) provides patients' perspectives on CPET obtained through an online survey supported by the European Lung Foundation. We systematically reviewed published studies obtained from EMBASE, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from inception to January 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The objective of this study was to compare fatigue levels between subjects with and without COPD, and to investigate the relationship between fatigue, demographics, clinical features and disease severity.
Methods: A total of 1290 patients with COPD [age 65 ± 9 years, 61% male, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) 56 ± 19% predicted] and 199 subjects without COPD (age 63 ± 9 years, 51% male, FEV1 112 ± 21% predicted) were assessed for fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength-Fatigue), demographics, clinical features and disease severity.
Results: Patients with COPD had a higher mean fatigue score, and a higher proportion of severe fatigue (CIS-Fatigue score 35 ± 12 21 ± 11 points, < 0.
To date, it remains unknown which patients report a clinically-relevant improvement in fatigue following pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize these responders. Demographics, lung function, anxiety (anxiety subscale of the 90-item symptom checklist (SCL-90-A)), depression (Beck depression inventory for primary care (BDI-PC)), exercise tolerance (six-minute walking distance test (6MWD)), and health status (Nijmegen clinical screening instrument (NCSI)) were assessed before and after a 12-week PR programme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA high proportion of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience problems during the performance of activities of daily living (ADLs). We aimed to determine the effects of a comprehensive 8-wk pulmonary rehabilitation program on the physiologic response to and performance of ADLs in patients with COPD. Before and after pulmonary rehabilitation, 31 patients with COPD [71% men; mean age: 64.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 2018 update of the Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention does not mention fatigue-related symptoms. Nevertheless, patients with asthma frequently report tiredness, lack of energy, and daytime sleepiness. Quantitative research regarding the prevalence of fatigue in asthmatic patients is lacking.
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