Treating delusional depressives with amitriptyline.
Thirty-five delusional depressed patients were treated for either 28 or 35 days with amitriptyline. The 12 responders could not be differentiated from the nonresponders on a variety of demographic and clinical characteristics. Patients with amitriptyline+nortriptyline plasma levels above 250 ng/ml were significantly more likely to be responders than were patients with levels below that value (p less than .05). A review of the relevant literature revealed that, although some delusional depressives do respond to treatment with tricyclic antidepressants, the presence of delusions is a predictor of poor response to tricyclic antidepressants.
D000328:Adult; D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003702:Delusions / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009661:Nortriptyline / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
D000639:Amitriptyline; D009661:Nortriptyline