Fatigue is Associated with Reduced Participation and Health-Related Quality of Life Five Years After Perimesencephalic Subarachnoid Haemorrhage: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether fatigue is associated with participation and health-related quality of life 5 years after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage. DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: Forty-six patients with perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage. METHODS: Fatigue was assessed with the Fatigue Severity Scale, participation (frequency, restrictions, satisfaction) with the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation, healthrelated quality of life with the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale-12, symptoms of depression and anxiety with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and coping with the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. RESULTS: A total of 46 patients were included (63% men, mean age 50.4 ± 9.4 years), with a mean time of 4.7 ± 1.6 years after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage onset. Fatigued patients (33%) had worse participation (p < 0.01) and health-related quality of life (p < 0.001) than non-fatigued patients, and more often had hypertension, depression, anxiety and emotion-oriented coping (p < 0.05). Fatigue severity was inversely and independently (p < 0.005) associated with participation frequency (B = -3.62), satisfaction (B = -4.54), having restrictions (odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval 1.079-5.685), and health-related quality of life (B = -0.19), adjusted for depression, anxiety, and/or hypertension. CONCLUSION: Five years after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage, one-third of patients still reported fatigue, which was associated with worse participation and health-related quality of life. Future studies should examine whether these patients may benefit from rehabilitation aimed at fatigue.

Fatigue in relation to long-term participation outcome in aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of fatigue with long-term participation in aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage survivors. DESIGN: Cohort study, 4 years post-onset. SUBJECTS: A total of 59 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. METHODS: Participation performance was assessed with the Sickness Impact Profile-68, participation autonomy and problem experience with the Impact on Participation and Autonomy questionnaire, and community integration with the Community Integration Questionnaire. Fatigue was assessed with the Fatigue Severity Scale and depression with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Fifty-nine survivors (mean age 53.0 years, standard deviation (SD) 10.8 years) were included, of which 59.3% was fatigued. Fatigued patients had significantly worse participation scores than non-fatigued patients regarding performance (p < 0.001), autonomy indoors (p = 0.001), autonomy outdoors (p = 0.002) and problem experience (p = 0.001), but not regarding community integration. More severe fatigue was related to worse participation in terms of performance (B = 2.79, p < 0.001) and problem experience (B = 0.08, p = 0.003), adjusted for depression and inpatient rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: Four years after onset, many survivors of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage have persistent fatigue, which is independently associated with reduced participation in activities of daily living. Therefore, future studies should investigate whether rehabilitation programs that focus on fatigue are effective in improving long-term participation outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Long-term fatigue after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage in relation to cognitive functioning, mood and comorbidity.

PURPOSE: To study relationships between fatigue and objective and subjective cognitive functioning, mood and comorbidity in the long term after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage (PM-SAH). METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Objective cognitive functioning was measured with: Trail Making Test; Symbol Substitution; D2; Verbal and Semantic Fluency; Tower Test; Digit Span; 15-Words Test; Rey Complex Figure. Subjective cognitive functioning: Cognitive Failure Questionnaire. Fatigue: Fatigue Severity Scale. Mood: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. RESULTS: Forty-six patients, mean age 50.4 (SD = 9.4), mean time after PM-SAH 4.7 (SD = 1.6) years participated. Patients with fatigue (33%) had significantly lower scores than patients without fatigue on most objective cognitive functioning tests (p < 0.05). Fatigue score was significantly associated with subjective and objective cognitive functioning, mood and comorbidity. After adjustment for mood and comorbidity, fatigue remained associated with attention and executive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports our previous findings that a third of patients with PM-SAH experience fatigue and problems of cognitive functioning, also in the long term. Future research should investigate whether these patients would benefit from long-term follow-up and/or cognitive rehabilitation programmes. Implications for Rehabilitation Consequences for patients with PM-SAH are underestimated. One in every three patients suffered from fatigue in the long term after onset of PM-SAH. Patients with PM-SAH should be screened for problems of cognitive functioning, fatigue and mood in outpatient clinic just as patients with aneurysmal SAH.

Unmet needs, community integration and employment status four years after subarachnoid haemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To assess long-term unmet needs in relation to community integration and employment status 4 years after subarachnoid haemorrhage. DESIGN: Four-year follow-up of a prospective cohort. PATIENTS: Sixty-seven patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage. METHODS: Employment status was assessed and the Community Integration Questionnaire-Revised and Southampton Needs Assessment Questionnaire were used. RESULTS: The mean age of subarachnoid haemorrhage onset was 52.5 years (standard deviation (SD) 10.7 years) and 39% of subjects were male. Four years after subarachnoid haemorrhage, 23.9% of subjects had symptoms of depression, 43.3% had mild cognitive impairment, 67.2% were unemployed and 67.2% had one or more unmet needs. Most subjects reported a need for information (59.7%). Unemployed patients had more unmet needs than employed patients (p = 0.034), but no independent relationship was found. The community integration score was moderate (mean 15.1; SD 4.4). A higher level of unmet needs was independently related to a lower level of community integration (B = -0.25; p = 0.018), adjusted for age and comorbidity. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of patients have unmet needs and are unemployed 4 years after subarachnoid haemorrhage. There is an inverse relationship between unmet needs and community integration. Future research should investigate whether dealing with information needs during rehabilitation contributes to better community integration in these patients.

Long-Term Functioning of Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A 4-yr Follow-up Study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to study changes over time for multiple outcomes based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and to compare long-term outcomes with norms. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study with 4-yr follow-up was conducted. Main outcome measures were as follows: Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Trail Making Test A and B, Barthel Index, Sickness Impact Profile-68, Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire, Social Support List-12, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales, COOP-WONCA Charts, and Short Form-36 Health Survey. RESULTS: Seventy-six patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were included. Measurements were done at T1 = 0.4 yrs (SD, 0.3 yrs) and T2 = 3.9 yrs (SD, 0.7 yrs) after onset. Significant improvements over time were found for Barthel Index (T1 = 18.5; T2 = 19.5; P = 0.023), Trail Making Test B (T1 = 119.4; T2 = 104.6; P = 0.025), Social Support List-12 total score (T1 = 31.1; T2 = 32.7; P = 0.042) and esteem support (T1 = 10.2; T2 = 10.9; P = 0.027), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales (physician-orientation) (T1 = 21.8; T2 = 19.2; P = 0.020), and Short Form-36 Health Survey (role-emotional) (T1 = 54.6; T2 = 73.9; P = 0.048). Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Sickness Impact Profile-68, and Short Form-36 Health Survey scores remained stable over time. A decline was found for COOP-WONCA (overall-health) (T1 = 2.3; T2 = 2.7; P = 0.021). At 4-yr follow-up, proportions of depression (27%) and fatigue (60%) were larger and scores on the Fatigue Severity Scale (mean [SE], 4.3 [0.2]), Trail Making Test A (mean [SE], 51.3 [3.9]), and Trail Making Test B (mean [SE], 104.4 [0.2]) were significantly worse than norm scores. CONCLUSIONS: Many patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage had fairly good long-term outcomes, but problems in executive functioning, mood, and fatigue still exist at long-term follow-up.

Differences in cognitive and emotional outcomes between patients with perimesencephalic and aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

OBJECTIVES: To compare cognitive and emotional outcomes between patients with aneurysmal and perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage and norm scores. DESIGN: First measurement in prospective cohort study. PATIENTS: Sixty-seven patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage, were divided into perimesencephalic (n = 8) and aneurysmal (n = 59) subarachnoid haemorrhage groups. METHODS: Patients completed several questionnaires within the first year after haemorrhage. Depression was measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale, and objective cognitive functioning with the Trail Making Test. Glasgow Coma Scale scores were collected at hospital admission. RESULTS: Perimesencephalic patients had lower depression (p = 0.006) and lower fatigue scores (p = 0.029) and were faster on the Trail Making Test A (p = 0.002) than aneurysmal patients. No differences between the groups were found on Trail Making Test B (p = 0.112) and presence of fatigue (p = 0.105). Compared with norm scores, aneurysmal patients scored significantly worse on all outcomes, whereas perimesencephalic patients scored worse on Trail Making Test B (p < 0.008), fatigue (p = 0.073) and presence of fatigue (p = 0.058). CONCLUSION: Perimesencephalic patients may experience problems in complex cognitive functioning and fatigue. In this respect, they have similar sequelae as aneurysmal patients, which may interfere with daily activities and social participation. These findings are of clinical relevance, as perimesencephalic patients often are discharged from hospital without long-term follow-up.

The relationship of coping style with depression, burden, and life dissatisfaction in caregivers of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship of coping style with depression, burden and life satisfaction in caregivers of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-one primary caregivers of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage. METHODS: Caregivers completed several questionnaires within the first year after subarachnoid haemorrhage. Coping style was assessed using the Utrecht Coping List, depression with the Goldberg Depression Scale (GDS), burden with the Sense of Competence Questionnaire, and life satisfaction with the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. RESULTS: Caregivers had a mean burden score of 37.8 (standard deviation (SD) = 7.4) and a life satisfaction score of 5.0 (SD = 0.6). Nine caregivers (23%) had depressive symptoms (GDS ≥ 2). A palliative coping style was positively associated with the presence of depressive symptoms (odds ratio (OR) = 1.45, p = 0.016). A passive coping style was positively related to burden (ß = 1.61, p = 0.024), adjusted for morbidity of the caregiver (ß = 11.90, p = 0.013), and inversely related to life satisfaction (ß = -0.10, p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: In caregivers of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage palliative or passive coping styles are related to depressive symptoms, higher burden and life dissatisfaction. This implies that rehabilitation programmes for patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage should also include caregiver support programmes that focus on coping style.