General Principles of Bipolar Treatment Flashcards
Bipolar treatment categories involve…
3 categories
Acute mania treatment
Acute depression treatment
Maintenance treatment
A good approach to starting treatment in any phase in BD involve the following steps:
4 steps (Really we should be doing this when starting any treatment)
- Review general principles and assess medication status; adherence
- Initiate or optimize therapy
- Add-on or switch therapy
- Monitor/Maintain
When assessing a patient in an acute manic episode, we need to assess some factors, such as…
Risk of aggressive behaviour, violence, suicide
Degree of insight
Ability to adhere to treatment
Co-morbidities
Physical condition and lab tests
Most appropriate treatment setting?
In acute mania treatment, we should discontinue…
AD’s
Stimulants (caffeine, amphetamines, CS)
Alcohol
Nicotine
We need to rule out other causes when assessing acute mania, such as…
Prescribed medication
Illicit-drug use/abuse
Endocrine/neurological disorders
1st line monotherapy indicated for acute mania treatment include…
Mood stabilizers, AAP’s; how many respond, and when?
Lithium, valproic acid, divalproex, aripiprazole, low dose paliperidone, risperdone
All have level 1 evidence :) Asenapine also included, but is newer
50% respond to monotherapy with significant improvement in mania, in 3-4 weeks
1st line combinations for acute mania treatment include…
___ + ___
Lithium/DVP + Quetiapine/risperidone/asenapine/aripiprazole
Combo therapy for acute mania is recommended when…
A response is needed faster
Patients with a previous history of partial response to monotherapy, or more severe manic episodes
In general, combination therapy is preferred to mood stabilizer monotherapy for acute mania treatment, because…
On average, about ~20% more patients will respond to combination therapy
Greater efficacy of combination compared to lithium/DVP alone
Some second-line treatment monotherapy options for acute mania include…
Olanzapine
Carbamazepine
Ziprasidone
Haloperidol
Some second-line combination options for acute mania include…
Olanzapine + lithium/DVP
Lithium + DVP
Lithium is preferred over divalproex for individuals who…
Display classical euphoric grandiose mania
Few prior episodes of illness
Family history of BD, especially with family history of lithium response
Divalproex is preferred over lithium for individuals who…
Have had multiple prior episodes
Predominant irritable/dysphoric mood, and/or comorbid substance abuse
History of head trauma
Carbamazepine may be a better option for acute mania treatment in patients with specific factors, such as…
Hx of head trauma or neurologic symptoms
Comorbid anxiety/substance abuse, or schizoaffective presentations with mood-incongruent delusions
Patients with mixed feature BD should use…
DVP +/- AP’s, especially effective in combination
After starting a 1st line agent for acute mania, some therapeutic response is expected within…
1-2 weeks
Switching therapy or add-on strategies in acute mania should be considered when…
No response is observed within 2 weeks, with therapeutic doses + other contributing factors are excluded
Either combination of 1st line agents, or 2nd line therapies
ECT may be recommended in mania treatment, when…
Mania is refractory