Treatment of Peripartum Depression with Antidepressants and Other Psychotropic Medications: A Synthesis of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Europe
Kittel-Schneider, Sarah
Felice, Ethel
Buhagiar, Rachel
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Lambregtse-van den Berg, Mijke
Wilson, Claire A.
Baljak, Visnja Banjac
Vujovic, Katarina Savic
Medic, Branislava
Opankovic, Ana
Fonseca, Ana
Lupattelli, Angela
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Lupattelli, A (通讯作者),Univ Oslo, Fac Math & Nat Sci, Dept Pharm, PharmaTox Strateg Res Initiat,PharmacoEpidemiol &, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
This study examined (1) the availability and content of national CPGs for treatment of peripartum depression, including comorbid anxiety, with antidepressants and other psychotropics across Europe and (2) antidepressant and other psychotropic utilization data as an indicator of prescribers' compliance to the guidelines. We conducted a search using Medline and the Guidelines International Network database, combined with direct e-mail contact with national Riseup-PPD COST ACTION members and researchers within psychiatry. Of the 48 European countries examined, we screened 41 records and included 14 of them for full-text evaluation. After exclusion of ineligible and duplicate records, we included 12 CPGs. Multiple CPGs recommend antidepressant initiation or continuation based on maternal disease severity, non-response to first-line non-pharmacological interventions, and after risk-benefit assessment. Advice on treatment of comorbid anxiety is largely missing or unspecific. Antidepressant dispensing data suggest general prescribers' compliance with the preferred substances of the CPG, although country-specific differences were noted. To conclude, there is an urgent need for harmonized, up-to-date CPGs for pharmacological management of peripartum depression and comorbid anxiety in Europe. The recommendations need to be informed by the latest available evidence so that healthcare providers and women can make informed, evidence-based decisions about treatment choices.