Fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Introduction: Rheumatoid Arthritis is defined as the chronic, systemic, inflammatory multisystem, autoimmune disease that usually affects peripheral joints with symmetrical distribution. Fatigue is a subjective concept and it is difficult to be characterized and defined. The main symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is fatigue that appears in patients and affect their quality of life. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the symptom of fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to determine the role of the nurse in the treatment of fatigue in these patients. Material and Methods: A search was made in the Pubmed and Scopus databases for reports on fatigue and. rheumatoid arthritis. There were used the following key words: fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, nurse and the combination of them. Results: There are many etiologic factors responsible for the onset of fatigue and they have not been fully elucidated. The evaluation and assessment of fatigue is difficult because the symptom is subjective. The scales are divided into two categories: one-dimensional and multidimensional. Nurses help patients with fatigue in rheeumatoid arthritis and encourage him to improve the health status. Finally, they help patient with the appropriate treatment and stress reduction. Conclusions: The contribution of nurses to relieve fatigue is particularly important because fatigue is the main symptom of the disease. It is required continuing education and specialist in order to alleviate patients' fatigue.