The pharmacotherapy of depressive illness in adolescence: II. Effects of lithium augmentation in nonresponders to imipramine.

The antidepressant value of lithium augmentation was assessed in a 3-week open trial involving 24 adolescents who remained highly depressed after 6 weeks of treatment with imipramine hydrochloride. Two patients responded dramatically during the first week, with an additional eight patients showing partial improvement during the 3-week trial. The overall magnitude of improvement in depression ratings was significantly greater than in an historical control group of nonresponders who continued to receive imipramine monotherapy during their hospital treatment. Results suggest the potential use of this adjunctive strategy in some tricyclic resistant adolescent depressives, although it appears less efficacious overall in this age group than in adults.