Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Musetti, Laura
• Tundo, Antonio
• Benedetti, Alessandra
• Massimetti, Gabriele
• Cambiali, Erika
• Pergentini, Irene
• Del Grande, Claudia
• Dell'Osso, Liliana

Titel

Lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine prescribing patterns for long‐term treatment of bipolar I and II disorders: A prospective study

Ist Teil von

• Human psychopharmacology, 2018-11, Vol.33 (6), p.e2676-n/a

Ort / Verlag

England: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EBSCOhost Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Objective This study aims to describe the prescription patterns of the mood stabilizers most commonly used for the treatment of bipolar I and II disorders (lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine) and to analyze the treatment outcomes. Methods Two hundred and thirty‐four outpatients with bipolar disorders receiving prophylactic treatment with lithium, valproate, carbamazepine, or their combination were followed up for at least 18 months in two Italian psychiatric centers specialized in mood disorders. Results The combination of lithium and valproate or carbamazepine was the most common prophylactic treatment (54.3%), followed by valproate or carbamazepine (24%) and lithium monotherapy (22%). Polytherapy was prescribed mainly to patients with bipolar I disorder, a high number of previous episodes and lifetime psychotic symptoms, whereas valproate or carbamazepine monotherapy was prescribed to patients with anxiety comorbidity. The annual frequency of recurrences decreased significantly after entering the study in the overall sample, and the reduction was significantly higher in patients on lithium plus valproate or carbamazepine compared with the valproate or carbamazepine group, but not with the lithium monotherapy group. The number of mixed recurrences during the follow‐up was significantly higher in patients on lithium plus valproate or carbamazepine. Conclusions Our findings may help clinicians to personalize long‐term treatment to prevent relapses of bipolar disorder according to clinical presentation.