Citation

Choi KH, Lee KU. Clin. Psychopharmacol. Neurosci. 2010; 8(3): 167-169.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Suicide is a significant public health issue worldwide and is often associated with co-existing psychiatric pathologies, primarily mood disorders. When selecting an optimal course of treatment for those with depression, the physical safety of the patient is an important consideration and becomes a primary concern if the patient is at a high risk for suicide. A novel pharmacological antidepressant treatment in conjunction with psychotherapy has recently been successful in the prevention of suicides. Mirtazapine has excellent efficacy in reducing depressive symptoms and also has less adverse side effects compared with current pharmacological therapies such as tricyclics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In addition, this novel drug has a broad therapeutic index and a short latency for toxic symptom relief, which may result in improved safety for the patient. However, there have been reports of mirtazapine overdoses in Korea. Presented here is a case study of the non-lethal toxic effects of a mirtazapine overdose, including over-sedation-related atelectasis. Copyright ©2010, Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

Language: en

Keywords

Safety; adult; human; suicide; Suicide; female; case report; Overdose; major depression; Mirtazapine; article; controlled study; drug intoxication; clinical feature; mirtazapine; sedation; alprazolam; drug safety; flumazenil; drug effect; symptom; QT prolongation; buspirone; atelectasis