[Symptoms and quality of life of hemodialysis patients aged 75 and over].
BACKGROUND
The population of dialysed patients includes an increasing percentage of very elderly patients. Although their life expectancy continues to increase, there are few currently available data about their quality of life.


OBJECTIVE
descriptive analysis of the determinants of quality of life, perceptual level of health and quality of life, and estimation of symptomatic complaints in a population of very elderly haemodialysed patients.


METHODS
Study of 35 haemodialysed patients aged 75 years old and older, who answered a questionnaire divided into 7 parts, defining: the determinants of their quality of life by open-ended questions, the prevalence of complaints amongst 35 pre-determined symptoms, Folstein MMSE performance, scores on Katz (ADL) and Lawton (IADL) independence scales, SF-36 perceptual health scale, and score subjectively allocated by the patients to their quality of life.


RESULTS
Maintenance of functional autonomy, independence in the decision-making process and maintaining good relationships with friends and family were major determinants of quality of life. Asthenia, the major complaint, was well reflected the reduced physical capabilities of the patients (mean SF-36 physical score: -1.1 SD). Despite the high prevalence of incapacitating painful symptoms (42%) and psychological symptoms (23%), autonomy remained satisfactory (mean ADL score: 5.6 out of 6 and IADL: 58%). The levels of perceptual health and of quality of life remained satisfactory for the majority of patients (mean mental SF-36 score: -0.06 SD, and 84% of the patients scored their quality of life > 5 out of 10).


CONCLUSIONS
These figures indicate the considerable resources that these patients could mobilise. It also emerges as an additional argument against the exclusion, based only on the criteria of age and multiple pathologies, of the oldest patients from the access to dialysis.
Antoine
V
V
Unité mobile de gériatrie, Service de gériatrie, Hôpital de Poissy, CHI Poissy-Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Poissy.
Souid
M
M
André
C
C
Barthélémy
F
F
Saint-Jean
O
O
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires