Suicide by Disconnection of Arterio – Venous Shunts: Report of 3 Cases

Three cases of renal failure attempted suicides are reported who did so by disconnecting the external arteriovenous shunt while undergoing hemodialysis. 2 of the 3 cases died from massive blood loss as a result of these attempts & was related to reactive depression due to the irreversible nature of their illness. Suicide & refusal of dialysis constitute 1.5% of deaths in hospital dialysis, 2.6% in home dialysis. A study of 3478 dialysis patients in the United States showed 5% of them committed suicide:100 times greater than the general population. Other facts included.