ArticleBMC nephrology2025
Prevalence and determinants of thirst distress amongst patients on maintenance haemodialysis.
Article in BMC nephrology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThirst and xerostomia are the main causes of poor adherence to fluid restriction and of excessive intake of fluids in patients on chronic haemodialysis. Thirst distress, defined as the degree to which a person is bothered by thirst, is hence a cause of high interdialytic weight gain and its consequences (cardiovascular death, deterioration of the quality of life).
methodsA hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out from 18th Dec 2023 to 11th April 2024, in 4 government-funded haemodialysis centres in three randomly selected regions of Cameroon. Patients received twice-weekly dialysis. Three hundred patients on maintenance haemodialysis for over 3 months were evaluated for thirst distress using the thirst distress scale and its characteristics, using a structured questionnaire before dialysis sessions.
resultsAbout 184 (61.33%) patients had thirst distress, with 123 (57.7%) patients being "Always" thirsty. More than 90% of patients have never been consulted for thirst distress. Two hundred and twelve (70.6%) patients felt that their thirst was well managed, and 194 (64.7%) of patients felt that their thirst had no negative impact on how comfortable their lives were. Strategies used by patients to avoid thirst included staying out of the hot sun 256 (85.3%), drinking cold or iced water 222 (73.9%), taking medications with meal fluids 222 (73.9%) and limiting salt in food 192 (64.2%). The xerostomia severity score was significantly associated with thirst distress (p < 0.001, OR = 1.93). For every patient who perceived their thirst was adequately managed, there was a significant 3.89-fold decrease in their TDS score (p < 0.001, OR = 3.896). Thirst distress negatively impacted the quality of life of the patients (OR: 0.76, p = 0.021).
conclusion61% of patients on maintenance haemodialysis had thirst distress, and most patients had never been consulted for thirst distress. The determinants of thirst distress included: xerostomia, being thirsty frequently, how well their thirst was and if the patient felt it had a negative impact on how comfortable their lives were. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.