title: Polypharmacy: when is it rational?
abstract: In this article, the authors discuss when it makes sense to consider using more than one medication to treat a single condition. They give a brief history of the use of polypharmacy in psychiatry and discuss how new discoveries in psychotropic drug development are making polypharmacy an increasingly important topic today. The authors then present a list of 10 criteria to guide the rational use of psychotropic polypharmacy and explain each in detail with examples drawn from clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Clinical Research Institute, Wichita, KS 67211, USA.
authors.forename: Sheldon H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Preskorn
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Lacey
mesh_terms: D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs