Authors: Bottlender et al.
Title: Mood-stablisers reduce the risk of developing antidepressant-induced maniform states in acute treatment of bipolar I depressed patients.
Reference: J Affective Disorders 2001;63:79-83.
Purpose: To compare the rates of antidepressant-induced switching in patients receiving an antidepressant with and without concomitant treatment with a mood-stabilizer .
Study design: Retrospective chart review.
Follow up: Not applicable.
Patients: 158 patients with bipolar I depression.
Treatment: Antidepressant (tricyclics, SSRI, MAOI, and others) with or without a mood stabilizer (lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine).
Results: Affective switching occurred in 25% of patients. The risk of switch was nearly 4-fold greater in patients receiving tricyclics and reduced by 70% in those receiving concomitant treatment with a mood stabilizer. For patients receveiving an SSRI, switch rates were 6% and 25% with and without concomitant treatment with a mood stabilizer, respectively.