Abstract
Background Executive functions (EFs) are critical to daily life and sensitive to our physiological functioning and emotional states. The number of people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis (HD) globally is increasing steadily. We aimed to determine the impact of a single session of HD on EFs in patients with CKD receiving maintenance HD (MHD). Methods This was a quasi-experimental study conducted at the department of psychiatry and dialysis unit of a tertiary hospital. Patients undergoing MHD underwent screening to rule out delirium, using the Confusion Assessment Method prior to EF testing. The tests of EF used were the Trail-Making TestPart B (TMT-B) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), both of which were administered before and after a session of HD. Statistical tests used were Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test, paired t -test, single sample t -test, and correlation analyses. Results The mean time taken on TMT-B before HD was 195.36 seconds and after HD, 171.1 seconds; difference is significant ( p = 0.0001). The mean FAB score was 13.19 before HD and 14.83 after HD; the difference is significant ( p < 0.0001). Significant differences were observed on similarities (p = 0.003), lexical fluency (p = 0.02), and gono go ( p = 0.003) subtests of FAB. Mean TMT-B scores before and after HD differed significantly from that of a reference study (reference TMT-B 150.69 seconds), p = 0.0002 and 0.04, respectively. Conclusion We conclude that patients with CKD on MHD, in general, have worse executive cognitive functioning compared with healthy populations. A session of HD results in significant improvement in these functions.
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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License, which permits unrestricted reproduction and distribution, for non-commercial purposes only; and use and reproduction, but not distribution, of adapted material for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.
