Application of the Zung self-rating depression scale to patients before and after introduction to haemodialysis.

In the present study we applied the Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS) to 19 renal failure patients who were introduced to haemodialysis in the Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital, Nagoya, Japan. The patients were divided into two groups: the emergent introduction (EI) group, who underwent unanticipated and sudden introduction to haemodialysis, and the ordinary introduction (OI) group, who experienced a more systematic introduction to haemodialysis following recommendation by medical specialists. The patients' Zung SDS responses were collected twice, just before and 2 weeks after haemodialysis introduction. The total SDS score of the EI group was significantly higher than that of the OI group, both before and after haemodialysis introduction. The total SDS scores for the EI and OI groups were significantly reduced after haemodialysis introduction. The SDS scores for the EI group were significantly higher in the mood of depression and cognitive symptoms categories, both before and after haemodyalysis introduction. Before introduction, SDS scores of the EI group were significantly higher in the categories of motor and vegetative symptoms. The SDS scores for vegetative symptoms in the EI group significantly decreased after introduction to haemodialysis. These results suggest that haemodialytic excretion of uremic toxins helps to reduce SDS scores.