GPs need ‘prompt and complete’ discharge summaries: coroner
A coroner has again flagged the importance of discharge summaries being “promptly communicated” to GPs following the death of a patient from prescription drug toxicity.…
Tag: Antidepressants
Antidepressant withdrawal or depression relapse? Here’s what I want GPs to know
There is increasing evidence that antidepressant withdrawal symptoms (or ‘discontinuation’ symptoms) are common and can be severe and long-lasting. Yet in the past, these symptoms…
A GP guide to mental health in aged care
Need to know: The number of Australians living in residential aged care continues to grow. In June 2022, 178,000 people aged 65 and older were…
Benefits of antidepressants ‘unclear’ for chronic pain in older patients: Aussie study
Antidepressants are widely prescribed to patients aged 65 and older for chronic pain but there is little evidence of benefits, Australian researchers say. Their meta-analysis…
RACGP officially endorses Aussie doctor’s antidepressant deprescribing guidelines
New deprescribing guidelines from an Australian-born doctor who battled antidepressant withdrawal symptoms have become the latest RACGP-backed clinical resource. Dr Mark Horowitz published The Maudsley…
‘These drugs are not harmless’: The Aussies tackling antidepressant deprescribing
“Antidepressants are a whole lot easier to start than they are to stop.” Professor Katharine Wallis, believes that, where existing guidelines are followed, can change…
Why doctors should be more open with patients about antidepressants and weight gain
When Dr Manfred Penzhorn prescribes antidepressants, he tells patients they are “almost certainly” about to put on weight. “Very few psychiatric medications don’t cause some…
Antidepressant withdrawal affects 1 in 6 patients stopping treatment: review
One in six patients who stop taking antidepressants experience withdrawal symptoms, according to German psychiatrists who say the incidence rate is lower than previous estimates.…
Watch for sexual dysfunction after antidepressant cessation: TGA
The TGA has slapped new safety warnings on all SSRIs and SNRIs about the risk of persistent sexual dysfunction after treatment cessation. It advised doctors…
Almost 20% increased risk for antidepressant prescription among GLP-1 RA users: study
Patients taking GLP-1 receptor agonists face a greater risk for later being dispensed antidepressants, an Australian study shows. Researchers from the University of Notre Dame…
