Correlation of the Psychological Status with the Clinical Evolution and the Degree of Compliance in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis

Abstract

Patients with chronic dialysis are a heterogeneous group with a vast pathology. There is an ambivalent relationship between the psychological status and the clinical evolution at these patients.

In this study, we followed the correlation between the clinical and psychological evolution in noncompliant patients, compared with patients complying with renal replacement therapy.

The clinical evolution was assessed using laboratory tests (urea, creatinine, phosphorus, calcium, albumin and Kt/v) and psychological (self-respect, quality of life, evaluation of conditional acceptance, attitudes and beliefs), by applying questionnaires established in literature. Attitudes and beliefs, although present in both groups, were better noticed in the noncompliant patients having a strong personality. Self-esteem was very high in the noncompliant patients, which denotes a non-acceptance of their disease.

Finally, there is the possibility that psychological states influence the clinical evolution of the noncompliant patients, reducing quality of life and increasing mortality in the dialysis wards.