OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent of use and clinical rationale for the prescribing of psychotropic drugs for people with personality disorder (PD) who are in contact with mental health services. METHOD: Clinical records of 278 patients with a primary diagnosis of PD were examined. RESULTS: Just over 80% (N = 225) of patients were being prescribed psychotropic medication. One in five was prescribed three or more drugs. People with comorbid mental disorders were more likely to receive psychotropic medication. Half those prescribed antidepressants had no record of depression in their records. While drug treatments were mostly prescribed for depressive and psychotic symptoms, they were also used to try to manage behavioural problems such as self-harm or given in response to patient requests for treatment. People receiving specialist PD services (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.13-0.95) or other specialist services (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.10-0.60) were less likely to be prescribed drug treatments. CONCLUSION: Drug treatments are widely used for people with PD despite the relatively weak evidence base. Both the type of personality problem and the context in which treatment is delivered appear to have an impact on whether drug treatments are prescribed.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent of use and clinical rationale for the prescribing of psychotropic drugs for people with personality disorder (PD) who are in contact with mental health services. METHOD: Clinical records of 278 patients with a primary diagnosis of PD were examined. RESULTS: Just over 80% (N = 225) of patients were being prescribed psychotropic medication. One in five was prescribed three or more drugs. People with comorbid mental disorders were more likely to receive psychotropic medication. Half those prescribed antidepressants had no record of depression in their records. While drug treatments were mostly prescribed for depressive and psychotic symptoms, they were also used to try to manage behavioural problems such as self-harm or given in response to patient requests for treatment. People receiving specialist PD services (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.13-0.95) or other specialist services (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.10-0.60) were less likely to be prescribed drug treatments. CONCLUSION: Drug treatments are widely used for people with PD despite the relatively weak evidence base. Both the type of personality problem and the context in which treatment is delivered appear to have an impact on whether drug treatments are prescribed.
Authors: Mike J Crawford; Verity C Leeson; Rachel Evans; Barbara Barrett; Aisling McQuaid; Jack Cheshire; Rahil Sanatinia; Gary Lamph; Piyal Sen; Katina Anagnostakis; Louise Millard; Inti Qurashi; Fintan Larkin; Nusrat Husain; Paul Moran; Thomas R E Barnes; Carol Paton; Zoe Hoare; Marco Picchioni; Simon Gibbon Journal: Ther Adv Psychopharmacol Date: 2022-04-29
Authors: Mike J Crawford; Rahil Sanatinia; Barbara Barrett; Sarah Byford; Gillian Cunningham; Kavi Gakhal; Geof Lawrence-Smith; Verity Leeson; Fenella Lemonsky; Georgia Lykomitrou; Alan Montgomery; Richard Morriss; Carol Paton; Wei Tan; Peter Tyrer; Joseph G Reilly Journal: Trials Date: 2015-07-18 Impact factor: 2.279
Authors: Giouliana Kadra-Scalzo; Jacqueline Garland; Stephen Miller; Chin-Kuo Chang; Marcella Fok; Richard D Hayes; Paul Moran; Hitesh Shetty; Allan H Young; Robert Stewart Journal: BJPsych Open Date: 2021-03-25