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Lithium Augmentation in Antidepressant-Resistant Patients a Quantitative Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

M.-P. V. Austin ,
F. G. M. Souza  and
G. M. Goodwin
M.-P. V. Austin
Affiliation:
Edinburgh University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital
F. G. M. Souza
Affiliation:
Edinburgh University Department of Psychiatry, and Assistant Professor, State University of Ceara, Messejana Mental Health Hospital, Fortaleza, Brazil
G. M. Goodwin*
Affiliation:
MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH10 5HF
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

A quantitative analysis was used to examine the efficacy of lithium augmentation in the acute treatment of depressed patients resistant to a standard trial of an antidepressant. Effect sizes were measured by the odds ratio using the Mantel–Haenszel method. Only controlled trials were included in order to minimise bias in method. A highly statistically significant effect for lithium augmentation was found, the pooled odds ratio being 0.146 and its 95% confidence interval 0.05–0.44 (i.e. the odds of remaining ill are reduced by between 56% and 95% with the use of lithium treatment). While these results support the case for lithium augmentation in treatment-resistant depression, there remains considerable uncertainty over the duration of treatment necessary to see and sustain the treatment response.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 159 , Issue 4 , October 1991 , pp. 510 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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