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Lithium Augmentation in the Treatment of Delusional Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

M. Pai ,
A. C. White  and
A. G. Deane
M. Pai
Affiliation:
Charles Burns Clinic, Moseley, Birmingham
A. C. White*
Affiliation:
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TH
A. G. Deane
Affiliation:
Midland Nerve Hospital, Birmingham
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Five patients suffering with delusional depression, and who were resistant to tricyclic antidepressants, were successfully treated with lithium carbonate. Delusional depression does not usually respond to tricyclic antidepressants, and ECT has been considered the treatment of choice. Such patients often refuse to acknowledge that they are ill. They, therefore, understandably often refuse to accept ECT. In order to treat, the Mental Health Act 1983 must be invoked. Treatment with lithium carbonate is more acceptable to most patients, and in the cases described, patients agreed to take this drug whereas they had refused to accept ECT.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 148 , Issue 6 , June 1986 , pp. 736 - 738
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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