Thirst distress and interdialytic weight gain: a study on a sample of haemodialysis patients.

ABSTRACT

Severe thirst distress is frequent in haemodialysis (HD) patients, and some studies have noted a positive relationship between thirst and an increased interdialytic weight gain (IDWG). The goal of this explorative study was to describe the perception of thirst and correlated symptoms in HD patients, and verify the correlation between thirst intensity and the IDWG. The study was performed on an opportunistic sample of patients treated in the dialysis unit of a city hospital in the North-East of Italy. Data were collected using a questionnaire containing a demographic and a clinical part, the Thirst Distress Scale, and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-10 about thirst intensity. The sample of 107 patients was composed of 71 males (66%). The average age was 68 years (SD 12, median 70 years). Fluid restriction causes severe physical discomfort and xerostomy. 66% of the respondents declared a thirst level of more than 7 on the VAS scale. The average IDWG was 2.47 kg. The chi2 test did not show a significant difference when correlated with thirst intensity (p = 0.88).