Psychiatric characteristics of consecutively evaluated outpatient renal transplant candidates and comparisons with consultation-liaison inpatients.

The purpose of this study was to empirically define psychiatric characteristics of renal transplantation candidates and determine whether demographic, psychiatric predisposition, psychiatric impairment, and psychiatric diagnosis characteristics differ from those of consultation-liaison (C-L) service inpatients. Standard clinical information recorded by a C-L service for 66 consecutively evaluated renal transplant candidates and 134 C-L inpatients was compared. The results revealed that the transplantation evaluation patients differ demographically from the C-L inpatients. The C-L inpatients are more likely to report past history of mental health treatment, but the two groups are equally likely to report past substance use disorder treatment. Mean scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Hamilton Anxiety and Hamilton Depression scales are less impaired in the transplant candidates. Mini-Mental State Exam mean scores are not significantly different. Five psychiatric diagnoses are significantly more likely in the C-L inpatients; only one is more likely in the transplant candidates. The authors conclude that the psychiatric characteristics of renal transplant candidates are distinct in many respects, confirming the unique skills needed by C-L psychiatrists who do pretransplant psychiatric evaluations.