Functional Status in Hemodialysis - A Comparative Study with FIM, ADLQ and 7D5L Instruments

There is only limited information on the functional status (FS) of patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) from developing countries where the etiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and demographic profile are different. The study aims to assess the FS in patients with CKD using three validated generic instruments. A total of 116 adult patients on HD with a dialysis vintage >3 months were enrolled. FS was assessed using three generic tools – Functional Independence Measure (FIM) (scores 18–126), Seven domains and five levels (7D5L) (scores 0–28), and Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ) (scores 0–6) scales. A higher FIM and ADLQ scores and lower 7D5L score indicated good FS. The mean age of patients was 41.28 ± 15.44 years. About 77.6% were males and 80.2% were unemployed. About 67.2% were receiving twice-weekly HD, and 28.4% were receiving thrice-weekly dialysis. The mean scores were 119.05 ± 11.42 with FIM, 6.44 ± 4.26 with 7D5L, and 5.51 ± 1.19 with ADL instruments. More than 80% showed full functional independence with ADLQ instrument. With FIM, the overall scores showed a tendency for functional independence, but the subdomains involving locomotion/mobility were impaired to a greater extent. The proportion of patients with full independence was less with 7D5L. We observed an inferior FS in individuals <40 years. Patients on HD were functionally independent as assessed by FIM and ADLQ instruments. However, 7D5L appeared to be better in identifying mild to moderate limitations in daily activities. The domains involving motor tasks seem to be affected to a greater extent. The current scales for assessing FS do not incorporate a time-dependent component.