Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics in non-delusional unipolar depressed patients with non-response to antidepressant-monotherapy].

Objective Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics is used in depressive patients with non-response to antidepressants. We investigated the utility of this strategy.Methods Systematic computer-based search in the online library Pubmed for randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trials (RCT) from the years 1990 to 2011.Results We found 14 RCT about augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics in depressive patients with non-response to antidepressants. Trials examined olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine and aripiprazole.Conclusions Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics is an alternative to the augmentation with lithium in unipolar depressive patients with non-response to antidepressants. But treatment with atypical antipsychotics as opposed to placebo increases the risk of non-compliance due to side-effects of medication. Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics in unipolar depression is an off-label therapy in Germany except for the augmentation with extended-release quetiapine. Knowledge about treatment strategies regarding augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics can increase the chance of a successful treatment, but interactions and side-effects should be considered. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Citation

Sebastian Erbe, Stefan Gutwinski, Tom Bschor. Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics in non-delusional unipolar depressed patients with non-response to antidepressant-monotherapy]. Psychiatrische Praxis. 2012 Mar;39(2):57-63

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PMID: 22189902

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