The Journal of clinical psychiatry
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Few studies have investigated risk factors for suicidal ideation and attempts, or possible variations in them, among representative samples of psychiatric patients with major depressive disorder. ⋯ Suicidal ideation is prevalent and appears to be a precondition for suicide attempts among psychiatric patients with MDD. The risk factors for suicidal ideation and attempts locate in several clinical and psychosocial domains. While these risk factors largely overlap, the overall level of psychopathology of suicide attempters is higher compared with that in patients with ideation, and substance use disorders and severity of depression may be of particular importance in predicting suicide attempts.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
An integrated analysis of acute treatment-emergent extrapyramidal syndrome in patients with schizophrenia during olanzapine clinical trials: comparisons with placebo, haloperidol, risperidone, or clozapine.
The frequency and severity of extrapyramidal syndrome (EPS) were evaluated in patients with DSM-III or DSM-IV schizophrenia in the acute phase (- 8 weeks) of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials from the integrated olanzapine clinical trial database. ⋯ This analysis of available data from olanzapine clinical trials lends additional support to olanzapine's favorable EPS profile.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Sertraline versus imipramine treatment of comorbid panic disorder and major depressive disorder.
To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of sertraline and imipramine in patients with comorbid panic disorder and major depressive disorder. ⋯ Both sertraline and imipramine were found to be highly effective treatments for both major depressive disorder and panic disorder, with sertraline showing significantly greater tolerability and compliance during long-term treatment than imipramine.
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The suicide risk of psychiatric patients fluctuated along the course of their illness and was found to be high in the immediate post-discharge period in some settings. The epidemiology and psychiatric services for the suicide population in Hong Kong have differed from those of the West (i.e., low youth suicide rate, high elderly suicide rate, high female/male ratio, and heavily government-subsidized psychiatric service). This study examined the suicide rates within a year of discharge from psychiatric inpatient care in Hong Kong. ⋯ The immediate post-discharge period carries a high risk of suicide for psychiatric patients. The high-risk groups are young adults and females. No diagnosis appears to carry a particularly high risk.
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Droperidol had become a standard treatment for sedating severely agitated or violent patients in both psychiatric and medical emergency departments. However, several recent articles have suggested that droperidol may have a quinidine-like effect similar to that of thioridazine in inducing dysrhythmia. ⋯ The authors conclude that, in clinical practice, droperidol is an extremely effective and safe method for treating severely agitated or violent patients. While in theory droperidol may prolong the QT interval to an extent similar to thioridazine, in clinical use there is no pattern of sudden deaths analogous to those that provoked the FDA warning about thioridazine.