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A survey of the prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors by psychiatrists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

John Lawton*
Affiliation:
Nottingham Healthcare NHS Trust, The Wells Road Centre, Wells Road, Nottingham NG3 3AA
Prakash Naik
Affiliation:
Lyndon Clinic, Hobs Meadow, Solihull West Midlands B92 8PW
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Questionnaires were sent to 92 doctors asking them about aspects of their antidepressant prescribing; 72 returned them. Sixty had prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in the previous year. The ratio of SSRIs to all antidepressants prescribed in the previous year exceeded 40% in only eight doctors. Inability to tolerate and failure to respond to established antidepressants were the most common indications for prescribing SSRIs. Side effects and cost were the most common reasons deterring doctors from prescribing SSRIs. SSRIs being new products and doubts regarding their efficacy were factors that were significantly more likely to deter ‘doctors of other grades' than consultants from prescribing them. Fluoxetine and paroxetine were the most frequently prescribed SSRIs.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1995

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