The association between preoperative fatigue and instrumental activities in daily living with complications and length of hospital stay in patients undergoing colorectal surgery.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is highest among the elderly. An important treatment modality is surgery. After surgery, due to poor functional recovery, some elderly have an increased risk for complications and prolonged length of hospital stay (LOS). Preoperative elevated levels of fatigue and impaired functioning in instrumental activities of daily living (iADL) might be associated with these outcomes, and may, therefore, be helpful to recognize patients with elevated risk for complications or prolonged LOS, who should undergo more thorough functional assessment. AIMS: This exploratory study aims to assess whether physical fatigue, reduced activity and/or iADL, assessed preoperatively, are associated with postoperative complications and prolonged LOS, in elderly patients undergoing surgery for CRC. METHODS: We performed an exploratory prospective study in older (≥ 65 years) patients (n = 57) who were scheduled to undergo elective surgery for colorectal cancer. Fatigue and iADL functioning were assessed with questionnaires. Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine the relationship of fatigue and iADL with complications and LOS. RESULTS: IADL was not associated with complications or LOS. Fatigue was not associated with complications. Patients with higher fatigue had increased LOS in the univariable analyses but not in the multivariable analyses after adjustment for nutritional status and neoadjuvant treatment. DISCUSSION: We found that fatigue was associated with increased LOS in the univariable analysis. The results from the multivariable analysis and path analysis indicate, however, that this is likely not a causal relationship; the observed relationship between physical fatigue and LOS appears to be confounded by nutritional status and by having received neoadjuvant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Although fatigue is a predictor for increased LOS, assessment of fatigue and iADL has no additional value for identifying elderly at risk for poor functional outcome after CRC surgery.

Comparison of symptom clusters associated with fatigue in older and younger survivors of colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most frequently reported symptoms in cancer survivors. To be able to optimally treat CRF, knowledge of symptoms that interact with CRF is helpful. During aging, changes occur in body composition with progressive deterioration in physiological functions and metabolic processes causing a decline of adaptive capacity. Therefore, symptoms caused by cancer and its treatment might coexist in different symptom clusters in older cancer survivors, compared to younger survivors. The purpose of this analysis was to identify and compare symptom clusters that include CRF between older and younger survivors of colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. In total, 1698 stage I and II CRC survivors diagnosed from 2000 to 2009 completed questionnaires on fatigue and psychological distress. Survivors were categorized in two groups based on age (≤65 versus >65 years) Symptom clusters were assessed using principal component analysis. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the results with categorical principal component analysis. RESULTS: In both age groups, three components including two symptom clusters were identified: an emotional symptom cluster containing anxiety, fatigue, and depression; a pain symptom cluster containing pain and insomnia; and a third component containing dyspnea only. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom clusters in survivors of CRC appear to be independent of age. In treating CRC survivors for fatigue, regardless of age, it is advisable to assess depression and anxiety and, if necessary, refer for further diagnosis and treatment.

The effect of physical exercise on cancer-related fatigue during cancer treatment: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of different exercise prescription parameters during cancer treatment on cancer-related fatigue (CRF). We also aimed to gain insight into the safety and feasibility of exercise during adjuvant cancer treatment. A systematic search of CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, Scopus and PEDro was carried out. Randomised controlled trials studying the effects of exercise during cancer treatment on CRF were included. In total, 18 studies (12 in breast, four in prostate and two in other cancer patients) met all the inclusion criteria. During breast cancer treatment, home-based exercise lead to a small, non-significant reduction (standardised mean difference 0.10, 95% confidence interval -0.25 to 0.45), whereas supervised aerobic exercise showed a medium, significant reduction in CRF (standardised mean difference 0.30, 95% confidence interval 0.09 to 0.51) compared with no exercise. A subgroup analysis of home-based (n=65) and supervised aerobic (n=98) and resistance exercise programmes (n=208) in prostate cancer patients showed no significant reduction in CRF in favour of the exercise group. Adherence ranged from 39% of the patients who visited at least 70% of the supervised exercise sessions to 100% completion of a home-based walking programme. In more than half the studies (12 of 18; 67%) adverse events were reported. Eight events in total (0.72%) occurred in these studies.