Psychostimulants for secondary depression in medical illness.

The hospital charts of 198 patients with acute medical or surgical illnesses who had been treated with either dextroamphetamine or methylphenidate for secondary depression during a 5-year period at the Massachusetts General Hospital were examined. Eighty-two percent of patients showed improvement following psychostimulant treatment. Seventy percent of all patients demonstrated marked or moderate improvement in depressive symptoms. No significant differences in efficacy between the two psychostimulants or across diagnostic categories for depression were observed. Patients improved quickly, usually within the first 2 days of treatment. Adverse reactions necessitating the termination of psychostimulant treatment occurred in 10% of trials. Anorexia was not observed as a side effect of treatment.