The serial measurement of mood in two brothers, renal transplant recipient and donor.

ABSTRACT

The object of this study was to demonstrate the importance of serial rather than single mood measurement in patients with fluctuating moods. We serially measured anxiety, sadness, and euphoria in two brothers, renal transplant recipient and donor, for 5 months postoperatively, using the Zung State Depression Scale, the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale, and a composite scale measuring euphoria. The results were plotted in an affect chart. The affect chart of the transplant recipient who had a postoperative mixed mood disorder, showed a widely fluctuating pattern. The affect chart of his brother, who had an affectively quiet postoperative course, showed a more stable pattern. Single mood measures in complex and fluctuating affective states give an incomplete picture, which may account for some confusion in the literature. Serial mood measurement more accurately describes complex affective states. This methodology may be useful in consultation-liaison research where the affective pattern itself is being used as an outcome measure.