6533b7d2fe1ef96bd125ed85

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Psychopharmacological treatment of bipolar disorder in Latin American

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Abstract Objective This study assessed the treatment preferences among Latin American psychiatrists for their bipolar disorder patients and if these preferences reflect the current guidelines. Methods We designed a survey comprised of 14 questions. All the questions were aimed at the treatment of bipolar I patients only. We distributed the survey by hand or e-mail to psychiatrists in eight different countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Between May 2008 and June 2009, we were able to gather 1143 surveys. Results As the initial choice of treatment for a bipolar patient who debuts with mania, 61.3% choose a combination of an atypical antipsychotic and a mood stabilizer. Lithium carbonate (50%) was the first choice for a mood stabilizer in a manic episode. Olanzapine (55.4%) was the initial antipsychotic of choice for the treatment of acute mania. For the treatment of acute bipolar depression, 27% choose Lamotrigineas their first choice. Most of the psychiatrists (74.8%) prescribe antidepressants for the treatment of bipolar depression. For maintenance treatment of bipolar depression most psychiatrists’ first choice would be Lamotrigine (50.3%). Most of the psychiatrists (89.1%) prescribed two or more psychotropic drugs for the maintenance treatment of their bipolar patients. Conclusions There were some similarities with the studies previously done in the US. It seems that for the most part the Latin American psychiatrists do not strictly follow the literature guidelines that are published, but rather adapt the treatment to the specific case. More longitudinal studies of prescribing patterns in bipolar disorder are needed to corroborate these findings.