The Patient Experience of Fatigue in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Conceptual Model.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Fatigue is frequently experienced in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is a key outcome in clinical research trials. However, SLE fatigue is complex and poorly understood, and challenging to measure. We aimed to characterise fatigue from the patients' perspective and develop a conceptual model of fatigue based on qualitative interviews.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews exploring fatigue in patients with SLE recruited from a social network (n = 29) and a phase 2 clinical study (n = 43). Transcripts were coded thematically, and codes were inductively categorised into a conceptual model.

Results

Fatigue was the most commonly reported symptom in the interviews and generated a wide range of codes. From these, our concept-driven

SUBMITTER: Cleanthous S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8814226 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature