Why the study?
The study was conducted to identify the prevalence of the nursing diagnosis Fatigue in patients with heart failure and to analyze the accuracy of its defining characteristics.
Does the 6-Minute Walking Test accurately identify the defining characteristics of Fatigue in patients with heart failure?
Does the 6-Minute Walking Test accurately identify the defining characteristics of Fatigue in patients with heart failure?
Current defining characteristics are not accurate enough to infer fatigue in heart failure patients, suggesting a 6MWT distance <300m should be added as a criterion.
Fatigue is common in HF; leaves open validation of defining characteristics before guiding nursing assessment.
PURPOSE: Identify the prevalence of the nursing diagnosis (ND) Fatigue in patients with heart failure (HF) and to analyze the accuracy of its defining characteristics (DCs). METHODS: 50 patients were assessed for Fatigue through a distance ambulated <300m during the Six-Minute Walking Test (6MWT) and the report of insufficient energy. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated for the DCs associated with Fatigue. FINDINGS: The prevalence of Fatigue was 48%. No DCs were sensitive and specific for determining Fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: There were no DCs accurate enough to infer Fatigue. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: A distance ambulated <300m during the 6MWT should be included as a DC of Fatigue.
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Santos et al. (2019) studied this question.
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