Renal transplant recipients experience multiple symptoms, but complex relationships among these symptoms remain poorly understood. To explore the existence of symptom clusters in renal transplant recipients. A total of 295 renal transplant recipients were recruited in a hospital in Tianjin from October 2017 to January 2018. The participants completed the symptom questionnaire that assessed three symptom dimensions of 62 symptoms. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify symptom clusters. Five symptom clusters were extracted through exploratory factor analysis: emotional-sleep symptom cluster, pain-gastrointestinal symptom cluster, immune-related symptom cluster, lack of energy symptom cluster, and visual dysfunction symptom cluster, which explained 50.53% of the variance of symptom experience. Renal transplant recipients experienced a complex series of symptoms, and some symptoms related to one another formed a symptom cluster. Adopting a symptom cluster approach has the potential to remarkably enhance symptom assessment and nursing care for renal transplant recipients.
Keywords: exploratory factor analysis; recipient; renal transplantation; symptom cluster.