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Polypharmacy in psychiatric treatment. Patterns of psychotropic drug use in Austrian psychiatric clinics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

H. Rittmannsberger ,
U. Meise ,
K. Schauflinger ,
E. Horvath ,
H. Donat  and
H. Hinterhuber
H. Rittmannsberger
Affiliation:
Upper Austrian Provincial Mental Hospital Wagner-Jauregg, Wagner-Jauregg-Weg 15 A-4020 Linz, Austria
U. Meise
Affiliation:
Psychiatric University Clinic Innsbruck, Austria
K. Schauflinger
Affiliation:
Upper Austrian Provincial Mental Hospital Wagner-Jauregg, Wagner-Jauregg-Weg 15 A-4020 Linz, Austria
E. Horvath
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Department, Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital Vienna, Austria
H. Donat
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Department, Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital Vienna, Austria
H. Hinterhuber
Affiliation:
Psychiatric University Clinic Innsbruck, Austria
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Summary

There are great variations in the way psychotropic drugs are prescribed. Most experts are in favour of psychopharmacological monotherapy, but little is known about the extent to which it is actually practised. A survey of the psychopharmacological medication of all patients under treatment was carried out in three Austrian psychiatric clinics of various types on two separate days. A psychiatric university clinic, the psychiatric department of a general hospital and a regional mental hospital were selected for the survey.

It was established that only 8% to 22% of the patients underwent psycho-pharmacological monotherapy and that the patients received 2.2 to 3.3 psychotropics on average. Five to 22% of the patients received five or more psychotropic agents. The results are presented in more detail in relation to the diagnoses of schizophrenia and depression.

The rare occurence of monotherapy might be due to unsound treatment regimens in some instances, but much more to a general trend in psychiatry fostering polydrug use.

Keywords

psychotropic drugsmonotherapypolypharmacypsychiatric inpatients
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , March 1999 , pp. 33 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier, Paris 1999

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