Management of the patient with ESRD after withdrawal from dialysis.

When dialysis no longer achieves the goal of prolonging quality life for the ESRD patient, withdrawal from dialysis is an option. Many patients, their families, and caregivers cannot make an informed decision to withdraw because they do not have sufficient information or, worse, are misinformed about what the patient might experience. This paper reviews the clinical circumstances in which dialysis is discontinued as well as the physiological signs and symptoms of the uremic-related death. Palliative management of those symptoms is from one nephrologist's model and provides a starting point for dialogue about this necessary care.