Browsing by Author "Britvić, Dubravka (24066425000)"

Objective: Trazodone is an effective antidepressant. The present study was designed as a non-interventional open-label, multi-centre, post-marketing study. The aim of the study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness and tolerability of trazodone retard formulation (Trittico® retard) in everyday clinical practice. Methods: Two hundred and forty-two patients with depressive disorder from 19 different centres were included in the study. The antidepressant and anxyolitic effects were assessed using Hamilton anxiety rating scale 14 items version, Hamilton depression rating scale 14 items version and Clinical Global Impression Severity scale. Results: After only two weeks of therapy, a statistically significant improvement in the HAM-D score, was observed. This observation was maintained over the whole study period, up to the day 56. Conclusions: Our study points toward clinical effectiveness of the prolonged-release formulation of trazodone in the treatment of unselected depressed patients in real-world practice. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Background: Tianeptine, a new generation antidepressant, possesses a unique mechanism of antidepressive action and has a specific pharmacokinetic profile. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy, tolerability and safety of tianeptine in a "fragile" population of depressive patients: (1) a group of elderly patients and (2) a group with comorbid alcohol addiction. Subjects and methods: This was an open multicentric eight-week study of tianeptine efficacy, tolerability and safety including patients with mild to moderate depression (DSM-IV), age ≥55 years (group 1; n=45) or with comorbid alcohol addiction (group 2; n=32). Assessments was made with the following rating scales; MADRS, HAM-A and CGI for efficacy and DESS for tolerability. Results: After eight-week tianeptine therapy, remission (MADRS ≤12) was established in 51.1% and 84.4%patients, respectively. On day 7, the therapy led to a significant decrease of MADRS. On endpoint, there were significant differences on HAM-A, CGI-I and CGI-S scores (p<0.01). No adverse effects with frequency ≥ 10%, were registered. A lower tolerability of tianeptine was registered in a group of elderly (nausea 4.5%, leg fatigue 4.4%, irritability 2.2%, bursts of crying and sadness 2.2%), while only 3.1% depressive patients with comorbid alcohol addiction had dizziness. Conclusion: This is the first clinical study to evaluate tolerability, efficacy and safety of tianeptine in a special population of depressive patients in the region. The study showed that tianeptine had good efficacy in treatment of mild to moderate forms of depression in special populations of depressive patients (elderly population and patients with comorbid alcohol addiction). The drug was well tolerated. © Medicinska naklada.

Introduction: Prescribing trends in maintenance therapy of patients with primary psychotic disorders (PSD) may vary worldwide. Present study aimed to investigate prescription patterns in a sample of outpatients with PSD from Serbia. Methods: In a sample of 73 PSD outpatients we analysed the rate of antipsychotic polypharmacy and psychotropic polypharmacy, concomitant continual benzodiazepine use, and associations between therapy, psychotic symptoms and quality of life. Results: Maintenance therapy (median daily dose 321 mg of chlorpromazine equivalents) predominantly consisted of monotherapy with second generation antipsychotics (45.2%), followed by antipsychotic polypharmacy based on first and second generation combination (25.0%). The median number of psychotropic drugs was 3. Benzodiazepines were continually prescribed to more than 60% of patients (mean daily dose 2.9 ± 2.0 mg lorazepam equivalents). Patients with benzodiazepine use had significantly more psychotropic medications and more antipsychotic polypharmacy, poorer quality of life and more severe psychopathology in comparison to another group. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated new information regarding the prescription patterns of psychotropic drugs in outpatients with PSD in Serbia, amplified with clinically relevant information. This study also revealed distinct prescription patterns concerning antipsychotic/benzodiazepine polypharmacy. Overall, such findings are likely to contribute to improving clinical practice and care for patients with PSD in general.Keypoints Present exploratory research aimed to elucidate trends of antipsychotics polypharmacy and concomitant use of psychotropic medications including benzodiazepines in the maintenance treatment of outpatients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, amplified with clinically relevant information (symptoms and quality of life). ‘Antipsychotic (AP) polypharmacy’ was defined as concurrent use of more than one AP for at least 1 month; ‘Psychotropic polypharmacy’ was defined as the combination of AP and a different class of psychotropic drugs medication for at least one month. The median number of prescribed psychotropic drugs was 3 (mean 3.1 ± 1.1) and the average AP daily dose was moderate (median 321 mg of chlorpromazine equivalents). However, the rates of AP polypharmacy (45.2%) and benzodiazepine prescription on a continual basis ('60%) found in our sample could be considered relatively high. Outpatients with higher AP daily dose and higher BPRS symptom score were receiving more benzodiazepines. For improvement of the local, as well as general clinical practice and care for patients with psychotic disorders, and for education in psychiatry, such analyses need to be done on a regular basis and on larger samples. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Aim: To compare patient's attitudes, demographic, clinical characteristics, psychopathology, insight and type of antipsychotic therapy in compliant and non-compliant outpatients with schizophrenia; to explore correlations between patient's attitudes and related variables. Methods: A sample of 44 outpatients of both genders (> 60 years), with a diagnosis of ICD-10 Schizophrenia (F20) was included into the study. All the patients were on maintenance treatment with different classes of antipsychotics (oral, depot or both), for at least 6 months from the latest hospitalisation. The exclusion criteria were determined. The BPRS and the PANSS were used to assess psychopathology and insight (G12 item). The self-report questionnaire MARS was used to assess patient's attitudes. Results: Compliant patients (N=37) showed the following significant differences compared to non-compliant patients (N=7): higher the MARS (p<0.001), lower the PANSS (Positive sub score) (p<0.01) G12 scores (p<0.01) (the Student t test) and percentage of patients with previous non-compliance (p<0.05) (χ2 test). Considerable correlation between the MARS and the BPRS (p<0.001), the PANSS (Positive, General psychopathology) (p<0.001; p<0.01), G12 scores (p<0.05) (negative) and current compliance (p<0.001) was also found (The Spearman's correlation). Conclusions: Our results suggest that special attention should be paid to attitudes, severity of psychopathology, insight and history of non-compliance in compliance evaluation of outpatients with schizophrenia. © Medicinska naklada - Zagreb, Croatia.