Add-on Antidepressants in the Naturalistic Treatment of - Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder - When, Who, and How?

Schennach, Rebecca; Obermeier, Michael; Seemüller, Florian; Jäger, Markus; Schmauss, Max; Laux, Gerd; Pfeiffer, Herbert; Naber, Dieter; Schmidt, Lutz G.; Gäbel, Wolfgang; Klosterköter, Joachim; Heuser, Isabella; Maier, Wolfgang; Lemke, Matthias R.; Rüther, Eckart; Klingberg, Stefan; Gastpar, Markus; Spellmann, Ilja; Musil, Richard; Möller, Hans-Jürgen und Riedel, Michael (2017): Add-on Antidepressants in the Naturalistic Treatment of - Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder - When, Who, and How? In: Pharmacopsychiatry, Bd. 50, Nr. 4: S. 136-144

Abstract

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate antidepressant add-on treatment within the acute treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients. Methods Antidepressant add-on was evaluated in 365 patients within a naturalistic multicenter study. Patients with/without antidepressant add-on were compared regarding clinical and treatment-related variables, response and remission, and remission of depressive and negative symptoms. The efficacy of antidepressant add-on treatment was furthermore analyzed applying marginal structure models. Results Twenty-three percent of the patients received antidepressant add-on for a mean duration of 50.28 (33.42) days. Patients with the diagnosis of a schizoaffective disorder, multiple illness episodes, and a longer duration of their illness as well as those with significantly fewer baseline positive symptoms, more negative and depressive symptoms, more side effects, and less subjective well-being were augmented with antidepressants. At discharge no significant effect of antidepressant add-on treatment was observed in terms of a 25 % improvement (p = 0.2623), a 50 % improvement (p = 0.3946), remission (p = 0.0552), or remission of depressive (p = 0.6336) and negative symptoms (p = 0.8756). Also, when analyzing marginal structure models considering the diagnostic subgroups, no significant effect was found. Discussion Add-on with antidepressants is common. A final recommendation in terms of this strategy's efficacy cannot be given.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 0176-3679
• Sprache: Englisch