Principles of bioethics in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease has a major impact on global health, causing both morbidity and mortality worldwide. Bioethics (from Greek: βιοσ — life, ετηοσ — custom) is a science that analyzes and studies the morality of human actions in the field of health care and in the biological and medical fields in accordance with its moral standards and values. The modern concept of bioethics is closely intertwined with the concepts of deontology, doctor’s code of ethics in the medical practice of a nephrologist. In the medical practice, there is a tendency to spread of absolutization of drug therapy, fetishization of laboratory, instrumental, hardware research methods, medical aggression. The patient’s contact with the doctor should begin with a conversation. On the part of the doctor, such a conversation should be based on the principles of empathy. The doctor must be able to dispel passivity and depression of patients, to strengthen social contact, and expand the space of their intellectual interests. The behavior of the doctor, who demonstrates a lack of understanding of the patient’s problems and does not consider psychosocial relationships, often causes mistrust and even becomes the cause of a conflict between the doctor and the patient. Issues of medical ethics in case of the need for kidney replacement therapy remain difficult. The offer of peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis can be perceived positively from the first word, or it can be categorically negative, depending on the character and emotional state of the patient. The purpose of our article is to consider the peculiarities of the implementation of bioethical principles in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with chronic kidney disease. The object of the work was the articles of philosophers, doctors, and lawyers who studied ethical relations in the medical environment in general and nephrology in particular. The subject of the study was the ethical norms and rules fixed in the documents. The article uses methods of historical approach, research of historical documents.

Keywords

• bioethics
• medical deontology
• medical ethics
• nephrology