Chapter 7 Antidepressants

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: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Note: All Stahl resources can be accessed through the Walden Library using this link. This link will take you to a log-in page for the Walden Library. Once you log into the library, the Stahl website will appear.

Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Note: To access the following chapters, click on the Essential Psychopharmacology, 4th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate chapter. Be sure to read all sections on the left navigation bar for each chapter.

  • Chapter 7, “Antidepressants”

Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Note: To access the following medications, click on the The Prescriber’s Guide, 5th ed tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate medication.

Review the following medications:

  • amitriptyline
  • bupropion
  • citalopram
  • clomipramine
  • desipramine
  • desvenlafaxine
  • doxepin
  • duloxetine
  • escitalopram
  • fluoxetine
  • fluvoxamine
  • imipramine
  • ketamine
  • mirtazapine
  • nortriptyline
  • paroxetine
  • selegiline
  • sertraline
  • trazodone
  • venlafaxine
  • vilazodone
  • vortioxetine

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Howland, R. H. (2008a). Sequenced treatment alternatives to relieve depression (STAR*D). Part 1: Study design. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 46(9), 21–24. doi:10.3928/02793695-20080901-06

Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Howland, R. H. (2008a). Sequenced treatment alternatives to relieve depression (STAR*D). Part 2: Study outcomes. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 46(19), 21–24. doi:10.3928/02793695-20081001-05

Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Yasuda, S.U., Zhang, L. & Huang, S.-M. (2008). The role of ethnicity in variability in response to drugs: Focus on clinical pharmacology studies. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 84(3), 417–423. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ScienceResearch/…/UCM085502.pdf

To prepare for this Discussion:

Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have assigned you to one of the following case studies to review for this Discussion. To access the following case studies, click on the Case Studies tab on the Stahl Online website and select the appropriate volume and case number

Case 2: Volume 1, Case #7: The case of physician do not heal thyself

  • Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide.
  • Go to the Stahl Online website and examine the case study you were assigned.
  • Take the pretest for the case study.
  • Review the patient intake documentation, psychiatric history, patient file, medication history, etc. As you progress through each section, formulate a list of questions that you might ask the patient if he or she were in your office.
  • Based on the patient’s case history, consider other people in his or her life that you would need to speak to or get feedback from (i.e., family members, teachers, nursing home aides, etc.).
  • Consider whether any additional physical exams or diagnostic testing may be necessary for the patient.
  • Develop a differential diagnoses for the patient. Refer to the DSM-5 in this week’s Learning Resources for guidance.
  • Review the patient’s past and current medications. Refer to Stahl’s Prescriber’s Guide and consider medications you might select for this patient.
  • Review the posttest for the case study.

By Day 3

Post a response to the following:

  • Provide the case number in the subject line of the Discussion thread.
  • List three questions you might ask the patient if he or she were in your office. Provide a rationale for why you might ask these questions.
  • Identify people in the patient’s life you would need to speak to or get feedback from to further assess the patient’s situation. Include specific questions you might ask these people and why.
  • Explain what physical exams and diagnostic tests would be appropriate for the patient and how the results would be used.
  • List three differential diagnoses for the patient. Identify the one that you think is most likely and explain why.
  • List two pharmacologic agents and their dosing that would be appropriate for the patient’s antidepressant therapy based on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. From a mechanism of action perspective, provide a rationale for why you might choose one agent over the other.
  • For the drug therapy you select, identify any contraindications to use or alterations in dosing that may need to be considered based on the client’s ethnicity. Discuss why the contraindication/alteration you identify exists. That is, what would be problematic with the use of this drug in individuals of other ethnicities?
  • If your assigned case includes “check points” (i.e., follow-up data at week 4, 8, 12, etc.), indicate any therapeutic changes that you might make based on the data provided.
  • Explain “lessons learned” from this case study, including how you might apply this case to your own practice when providing care to patients with similar clinical presentations