Check Out Evidence-based AHRQ Antidepressant Guides

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, is making it easier for you to safeguard your patients' health. Two new resources for you and your patients are available for downloading from the AHRQ Web site. This pair of plain-language guides gives you and your patients access to the latest scientific evidence on antidepressants, including information on how well these medications work and their potential side effects.

Written by AHRQ's John M. Eisenberg Clinical Decisions and Communications Science Center based on a systematic literature review conducted by the RTI International-University of North Carolina Evidence-based Practice Center, the Consumer Summary Guide, titled Antidepressant Medicines: A Guide for Adults with Depression, offers patient-friendly information on depression, as well as facts about the potential benefits of antidepressants, pricing information and a summary of the drugs' potential side effects.

The guide is intended to help patients work with their physicians and other health care professionals to choose appropriate antidepressant medications. It teaches patients about the common signs and symptoms of depression; how to talk with physicians about depression; and about the benefits, potential side effects and serious risks of antidepressants. It also discusses how to use the information learned about various antidepressant options when talking with health care professionals.

The Clinician Summary Guide, also produced by the John M. Eisenberg Clinical Decisions and Communications Science Center, is titled Choosing Antidepressants for Adults. The guide covers the topics listed above from the health professional's perspective and provides confidence ratings for existing scientific evidence on antidepressant use. It also offers guidance on prescribing antidepressants to patients.

Specifically, the guide includes information on a dozen second-generation antidepressants: bupropion, citalopram, duloxetine, escitalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, nefazodone, paroxetine, sertraline, trazodone and venlafaxine. These antidepressants, which include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, often are prescribed because first-generation antidepressants (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants) can cause intolerable side effects and carry high risks.

The clinician guide includes what it calls the "Clinical Bottom Line," which summarizes various uses and effects of these antidepressants. The publication gives guidance on phases of depression, selecting antidepressants, and potential side effects and risks of serious harm from these agents (i.e., suicide, serotonin syndrome). It also includes a table listing brand names, some recommended dosages and prices for the various drugs.

The clinician guide does not cover depression in children or adolescents, postpartum depression, or depression in people with coexisting psychiatric disorders. It also does not include information about tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors or any alternative therapies.

The AHRQ summary guides are published under AHRQ's Effective Health Care program and are available online or by mail. If you or your patients are interested in obtaining free print copies, call the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse at (800) 358-9295. Reference AHRQ publication No. 07-EHC007-2A for the consumer's guide and publication number No. 07-EHC007-3 for the clinician's guide.