A psychiatric perspective of dialysis discontinuation

In the 1970s, the suicide rate of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was calculated by conflating deaths from obvious clinical suicide attempts with deaths caused by lethal noncompliance and deaths preceded by dialysis discontinuation. Three decades later, although society's view about cessation of life-support treatment has markedly changed, relatively little is known about the psychiatric aspects of dialysis discontinuation. This paper reviews the literature and suggests a number of findings that warrant further research investigation.