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Occurrence and predictors of the fatigue in high-grade glioma patients

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Abstract

A better knowledge of the fatigue could be of the greatest importance for the high-grade glioma (HGG) patients, who are a unique and vulnerable population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and the predictors of the fatigue in HGG patients, using a specific fatigue scale. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. The study population included sixty-seven consecutive outpatients with HGG. We used these measures: Brief Fatigue Inventory, Karnofsky Performance Scale, Functional Independence Measure, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and Psychological Distress Inventory and SF-36, EORTC QLQ-30 and EORTC QLQ-BN20 for quality of life (QoL). Sixteen out of sixty-seven (23.9 %) patients were affected by Anaplastic Astrocytoma and 51/67 (76.1 %) by Glioblastoma Multiforme. About one-third (36.2 %) of patients had a clinically relevant fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory ≥3). In regression analysis, physical and mental aspects of QoL were statistically significant related with fatigue (p < 0.01 and p < 0.02, respectively). Our data underlined the relevant occurrence of fatigue in HGG patients and support the development of further studies exploring a tailored rehabilitation program.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus Foundation, Via Maresciallo Caviglia 30, 00194, Rome, Italy

    Irene Aprile, Luca Padua & Chiara Di Blasi

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00198, Rome, Italy

    Silvia Chiesa, Vincenzo Valentini & Mario Balducci

  3. Department of Neurosciences, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00198, Rome, Italy

    Luca Padua

  4. Department of Methods and Models for Economics, Territory and Finance, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Maria Felice Arezzo

  5. Institute of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00198, Rome, Italy

    Enrico Di Stasio

  6. Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus Foundation, Piazzale Morandi, 6, 20121, Milan, Italy

    Irene Aprile

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  1. Irene Aprile
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  2. Silvia Chiesa
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  3. Luca Padua
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  4. Chiara Di Blasi
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  5. Maria Felice Arezzo
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  6. Vincenzo Valentini
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  7. Enrico Di Stasio
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  8. Mario Balducci
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Correspondence to Irene Aprile.

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Aprile, I., Chiesa, S., Padua, L. et al. Occurrence and predictors of the fatigue in high-grade glioma patients. Neurol Sci 36, 1363–1369 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2111-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2111-7

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