Fatigue And Asthenia Flashcards
List 3 key features of fatigue
- Easy tiring
- Generalized weakness
- Mental fatigue
Define “generalized weakness”
The anticipatory sensation of difficulty in initiating a certain activity.
Define “mental fatigue”
Defined as the presence of impaired mental concentration, loss of memory, and emotional lability.
Define cancer-related fatigue
A distressing persistent, subjective sense of physical, emotional and/or cognitive tiredness or exhaustion related to cancer or cancer treatment that is not proportional to recent activity and interferes with usual functioning.
List 3 tumour-produced byproducts that can cause fatigue.
- Lipolytic factors
- Proteolytic factors
- Cytokines
- Tumour degredation products
- Invasion of brain or pituitary gland
List 3 pro-inflammatory cytokines implicated in cancer-related fatigue.
- TNF-alpha
- IL-1
- IL-6
What body systems do pro-inflammatory cytokines act on to induce fatigue? (4)
- Brain
- Muscles (msk)
- Immune system
- Metabolism
What 3 host factors regulate pro-inflammatory cytokines implicated in fatigue?
- Genetic factors
- Immune factors
- HPA axis alterations
Contributors to Fatigue (14)
- Cachexia
- Mood disorders
- Inflammation
- Neuroendocrine alterations
- Poly pharmacy
- Cancer-related symptoms
- Anemia
- Tumour by-products
- Infections
- Dehydration
- Anti cancer treatments
- Comorbidities (renal, hepatic, heart disease).
- Autonomic dysfunction
- Deconditioning
List 6 causes of muscle abnormalities due to cancer or it’s treatment.
- Abnormalities in cytokine production
- Cachexia
- Increased lactate in muscle tissues
- Atrophy if type II muscle fibres
- Myopathies from anti cancer treatments
- Loss of muscle mass from corticosteroids
6 causes of anemia in cancer pts
- Myelosuppression by chemotherapeutic agents
- Iron deficiency
- Bleeding
- Haemolysis
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Anemia of chronic disease
List 7 physical effects of autonomic dysfunction.
- Malnutrition
- Delayed gastric emptying
- Chronic nausea
- Anorexia
- Poor performance status
- Fatigue
- Orthostatic hypotension
List 3 psychological issues that can cause fatigue.
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Adjustment reaction
List 4 electrolyte abnormalities that can cause fatigue.
- Hyponatremia
- Hypokalemia
- Hypomagnesemia
- Hypercalcemia
List 6 cancer-related symptoms that can cause fatigue.
- Pain
- Psychological symptoms
- Dyspnea
- Sleep disturbances
- Anorexia
- Constipation
List 9 paraneoplastic neurological syndromes associated with fatigue
- Progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy
- Paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Subacute motor neuropathy
- Peripheral paraneoplastic neurological syndrome
- Ascending acute polyneuropathy
- Dermatomyositis polymyositis (neuromuscular)
- Eaton-lambert syndrome (neuromuscular)
- Myasthenia Gravis (neuromuscular)
List 4 anti cancer therapies that commonly contribute to fatigue.
- Cytotoxic therapeutic agents
- Radiotherapy
- Biological response modifiers (i.e interferon)
- Targeted therapy (I.e tyrosine kinase inhibitor)
List 11 medication classes commonly used in palliative care that can cause fatigue.
- Opioids
- Anxiolytics
- Anticholinergics
- Antiepileptics
- Neuroleptics
- Alpha-adrenergic blocking agents
- Diuretics
- SSRIs
- TCAs
- Benzos