title: Which antidepressant would psychiatrists and nurses from a developing country choose for themselves?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prescribing preference of mental health professionals in a developing country for antidepressants if they themselves developed a depressive illness.
  
  
  METHODS
  A specifically designed self reporting questionnaire was used to investigate which antidepressant was the preferred choice of psychiatrists and nurses and the factors which influenced their decision making.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fluoxetine was the antidepressant most likely to be chosen by psychiatrists for themselves, followed by escitalopram and tricyclic antidepressant. A total of 21 (27.6%) nurses said that they did not know which antidepressant they would prefer for themselves and 22 (29%) said that they would choose a benzodiazepine. Majority of the psychiatrists (71.9%) had more experience with SSRIs, 26.6% with tricyclic antidepressants and only about 1.5% had used venlafaxine and mirtazapine. Efficacy and safety of antidepressants were the two most important factors in selecting an antidepressant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SSRIs are the preferred antidepressants of Pakistani psychiatrists and nurses for their patients and for themselves. Efficacy and safety of a drug are likely to play a greater role in drug choice than cost of the drug.
authors: Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester, Accrington, UK. imran.chaudhry@manchester.ac.uk
authors: Imran Bashir
authors: IB
authors: Chaudhry
authors: Raza
authors: R
authors: Rahman
authors: Hassan Mustafa
authors: HM
authors: Minhas
authors: Nasim
authors: N
authors: Chaudhry
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Taylor
authors: Moin
authors: M
authors: Ansari
authors: Nusrat
authors: N
authors: Husain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D011570:Psychiatry; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D005473:Fluoxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors