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Background: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, but little is known about illness uncertainty in these patients., Objective: The authors examined the constructs of illness uncertainty., Method: In this cross-sectional study, Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Scale was used to examine these constructs (ambiguity, complexity, inconsistency, unpredictability) and their relationships with fatigue, pain, depressive symptoms, comorbidity, and quality of life (QOL) in 126 CHC patients undergoing a watchful-waiting protocol., Results: The Ambiguity subscale had the strongest relationships with depressive symptoms, QOL, and fatigue, and three of the four subscales were significantly correlated with pain., Conclusion: The results suggest targets for patient self-management interventions.

Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom for adult patients with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis, and has been associated with decreased survival and quality of life. Patients on hemodialysis must find ways to manage their fatigue and mitigate its effects on their lives. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive work was to describe the experience and self-management of fatigue in patients on incenter hemodialysis. Several themes were identified, which included the nature of fatigue, management of fatigue, consequences of fatigue, and factors associated with fatigue. This information will be valuable to nephrology nurses as they continue to care for and educate patients on hemodialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]