Presence of suicidality as a prognostic indicator.
BACKGROUND
Suicidal symptoms in depression are often thought to predict a higher severity of illness and a worse prognosis.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if suicidal ideation at the time of treatment for major depression can predict response to antidepressant medication in primary care.


METHODS
A retrospective analysis of subjects receiving anti-depressant drugs in a primary care setting


METHODS
Nine depressed patients (14%) who acknowledged suicidality on the PHQ-9 depression scale were followed up for and compared to a group of 54 (86%) depressed patients (controls) who did not have suicidal thoughts for four months. All were given treatment with antidepressants and followed with a disease management protocol where the PHQ-9 was used as a systematic outcome measure.


METHODS
Descriptive measures and t-tests were utilized to show statistical significance.


RESULTS
There were no statistical differences in remission from depressive symptoms based on the PHQ-9 scale after antidepressant treatment, between patients with suicidal thoughts (56%) and those without (44%).


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of suicidality as a depressive symptom did not predict poorer clinical outcome when treating depression in the primary care setting in the patients studied.
Malhotra
K
K
Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.
Schwartz
T
T
Hameed
U
U
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*
D000928:Antidepressive Agents