Trial Information

Change of Fatigue and Physical Fitness and Their Related Factors in Hospitalized Hematology Patients

Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF) is one of the common distressed symptoms that leukemia patients
experienced during the period of chemotherapy. Exercise is the most effective
non-pharmacologic treatment but inpatients refuse to do exercise in clinical settings in
Taiwan. Decreased physical activity may increase the intensity of fatigue and degenerate the
physical fitness; however, there is no study to explore the trajectories of fatigue and
physical fitness for leukemia patient during hospitalization. Therefore, the purposes of
this study are to (1) explore the severity of symptom of leukemia patients experienced
before and after chemotherapy in hospital, (2) investigate the trajectories of the fatigue
and physical fitness, and their related factors, and (3) the correlation between fatigue and
physical fitness. A longitudinal designed study will be conducted to recruit the leukemia
patients in a medical center in Taipei. Eligible patients are those will be going to receive
chemotherapy and in hospital at least one week. Time periods for data collection will be in
the first 48 hours after hospitalization (T0) and the 48 hours before the patient discharged
(T1). A set of structured questionnaire will be used to collected data including the
Background information form, the Fatigue Symptom Inventory, the Cancer Fatigue Scale, the
Symptom Severity Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Patients will be
received physical fitness test including the 6-Minute Walking Test, grip strength, and
30-second chair stand test. The descriptive statistics will be used to analyze the severity
of symptom distress, fatigue, and the change of physical fitness, and the inferential
statistics was used to analyze the correlation of the symptom, fatigue, and physical
fitness. Besides, generalized estimating equations (GEE) will be used to analysis the
average of population change of fatigue and physical fitness.