Therapeutic Importance for Mental Disorder in the Patient on Dialysis

Abstract

Patients on dialysis tend to have mental disorders including depression which is related to limit actions of everyday life, experiences of loss and stress in the face of death. I have been engaged in a dialysis medical care not only as a specialist in dialysis but also as a psychosomatic physician. From such a standpoint of mine, I viewed the therapeutic importance of mental disorder in the dialysis spot by presenting 5 cases I was concerned with. Five cases consist of 3 patients of depression and 2 of panic disorder. Recovery from their psychiatric symptoms was made in all these cases by interviews from the psychosomatic viewpoint and administration of SSRI. It seems to be important that we grasp mental disorders of patients on dialysis in the early stage and cure them adequately. Dialysis medical care in Japan has achieved the world highest standard in physical treatment, but an approach to its psychological aspect is still insufficient. It seemed that further study in the field of so-called Psychonephrology was necessary.