Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40703153›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

Effectiveness of exercise in reducing symptom burden among hemodialysis patients: a non-pharmacological intervention approach.

Bushra Alshammari, J Silvia Edison, Sameer A Alkubati, Awatif M Alrasheeday, Bander Albagawi, Laila Lafi Alharbi, Hajer I Motakef, Layla Alshammari, Bahia Galal Abd El-Razik Siam, Nawal Abdullah Alharbi and 4 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07262879 (Effect of Nurse-Led Intradialytic Stretching Exercises on Muscle Cramp Burden Among Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07262879 nacompletednot on this map

Effect of Nurse-Led Intradialytic Stretching Exercises on Muscle Cramp Burden Among Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorBeni-Suef UniversityRan2024 to 2025Enrolled60ConditionsMuscle Cramp, Renal Dialysis, Exercise Therapy, Nursing CareArmsNurse-Led Intradialytic Stretching Exercises
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Bushra AlshammariMedical Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
J Silvia EdisonMedical Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Sameer A AlkubatiMedical Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Awatif M AlrasheedayNursing Administration Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Bander AlbagawiMedical Surgical Department, College of Nursing, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Laila Lafi AlharbiKing Salman Specialist Hospital, Emergency Department Director, Hail Health Cluster, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Hajer I MotakefMaternal and Child Health Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Layla AlshammariMedical Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Bahia Galal Abd El-Razik SiamMedical Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Nawal Abdullah AlharbiAcademic Affairs and Medical Education, Maternity and Children's Hospital, Hail Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Wejdan AssiriCritical Care Nursing Program, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Amirah Abdulaziz AlmoqadQuality Department, Riyadh Health Cluster, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman Ibrahim AldibasKing Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Farhan AlshammariDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) often experience a substantial symptom burden, which negatively impacts their quality of life. While pharmacological treatments are commonly used to manage these symptoms, non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercise, have gained attention for their potential to alleviate both physical and psychological symptoms without additional medication-related side effects. Compared to other strategies that often target a limited range of symptoms-such as meditation for depression or music therapy for anxiety-exercise offers broader benefits, making it particularly promising for patients receiving HD. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise intervention in reducing the symptom burden among patients receiving HD in Hail City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post intervention design was employed, involving (n = 72) HD patients recruited through convenience sampling from King Salman Specialist Hospital and King Khalid Hospital. Participants engaged in a structured exercise program for 12 weeks, with sessions conducted three times per week for 30 min. Symptom severity was assessed using the Dialysis Symptom Index (DSI) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests, with a significance level set at Results: A total of 72 HD patients participated in the study. The exercise intervention led to a statistically significant reduction in overall symptom severity scores, decreasing from 105.94 ± 9.77 pre-intervention to 102.50 ± 9.61 post-intervention ( Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that a structured exercise program is an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing symptom burden among HD patients. These results support incorporating exercise into routine HD care to enhance patient well-being. Future initiatives should focus on integrating supervised, accessible exercise programs into dialysis centers to maximize adherence and therapeutic benefit.

Indexed as

ExerciseExercise TherapyKidney Failure, ChronicRenal DialysisAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeSaudi ArabiaSymptom Burdenend-stage renal diseaseexercise interventionhemodialysisnon-pharmacological interventionquality of lifesymptom burden

Identifiers

PMID40703153
PMCPMC12283608

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.