Mortality of hemodialysis patients with advanced dementia newly admitted to a psychiatric unit

Abstract

【Objective】To examine the mortality of hemodialysis patients with advanced dementia newly admitted to a psychiatric unit. 【Methods】 The subjects consisted of 20 hemodialysis patients admitted to our psychiatric unit during a period of 7 years. We divided them into two groups : advanced dementia group and non-advanced dementia group. We investigated the background of these two groups and examined the mortality by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. 【Results】 Twenty patients were divided into the advanced dementia group (n=7) and the non-advanced dementia group (n=13). The advanced group tended to include more men, with an average age of 70 and decreased activity. We found a significant difference in mortality between the two groups, and the advanced dementia group was associated with a poor prognosis. 【Conclusion】 The findings suggest that hemodialysis patients with advanced dementia admitted to a psychiatric unit have poor clinical outcomes.