🤓Tips on selecting antidepressants⁠
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💊 Selecting the right antidepressant can be overwhelming, but focusing on key patient characteristics helps make this process clearer. It is important to ensure you collect a thorough patient history to assess what treatments may or may not have worked for them.⁠
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✨ It is important to consider pre-existing conditions a patient has before initiating an antidepressant. For example, if the patient has an increased risk for QT prolongation, it would be important to avoid antidepressants that can prolong the QTc such as citalopram, escitalopram, and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Always evaluate for potential drug interactions and patient-specific risks, like fall concerns in elderly patients or adherence challenges in younger ones.⁠
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✨ For treatment-resistant depression, options like augmentation (lithium, buspirone, atypical antipsychotics) or combining antidepressants with different mechanisms may be beneficial.⁠
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💡 Use these pearls to guide your recommendations and provide personalized care for every patient.⁠
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