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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Heinz Grunze
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The increasing number of pharmacological treatment options for bipolar disorder seems to be paralleled by the number of evidence-based guidelines published previously. The aim of this study was to systematically examine the adherence to published guidelines and any change in prescription habits over time in a psychiatric hospital setting. This is a retrospective study of 531 bipolar in patients who were consecutively admitted to the Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Innsbruck. Their complete medical histories were evaluated for psychotropic medications, with a special focus on mood stabilizers (MSs). To compare the use of individual MSs or combinations with other psychotropic medications in two preselected observation periods (1999-2003 and 2004-2007), we used Fisher's exact test. Overall, the proportion of patients receiving at least one MS increased significantly from 1999-2003 to 2004-2007 (74.1 vs. 83.1%, P = 0.011). Among the individual MSs, valproate was used most frequently in both time periods, showing a significant increase (P < 0.001). Prescriptions of quetiapine (P < 0.001) and lamotrigine (P = 0.033) increased significantly, carbamazepine showed a significant decrease (P < 0.001). Prescriptions of lithium and olanzapine decreased without reaching significance. The significant increase in the prescription of MS reflects the increasing awareness and implementation of recent evidence-based medicine guidelines into clinical practice. Clinical decision making, usually made on the basis of individual clinical experience, should always be reevaluated using periodically updated evidence-based medicine guidelines. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 27:256-266 (c) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Author(s): Walpoth-Niederwanger M, Kemmler G, Grunze H, Weiss U, Hortnagl C, Strauss R, Blasko I, Hausmann A
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Clinical Psychopharmacology
Year: 2012
Volume: 27
Issue: 5
Pages: 256-266
Print publication date: 01/09/2012
ISSN (print): 0268-1315
ISSN (electronic): 1473-5857
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/YIC.0b013e328356ac92
DOI: 10.1097/YIC.0b013e328356ac92
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