Treatment guidelines: current and future management of bipolar disorder.

The emergence of new treatments for bipolar disorder has coincided with a proliferation of published treatment algorithm recommendations and practice guidelines. Several guidelines derive from critical appraisals of current treatment literature and, as such, may serve as a critical reference resource to complement individual clinical judgment. This review describes points of overlap and discordance across currently available treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder and presents common clinical situations in which the consultation of treatment guidelines may provide clinicians with useful information and a rationale for making sequential treatment decisions.