PAROXETINE AS ANTIDEPRESSANT IN COMBINED ANTIDEPRESSANT-NEUROLEPTIC THERAPY IN DELUSIONAL DEPRESSION - OBSERVATION OF CLINICAL USE

The combination of antidepressive and antipsychotic (neuroleptic) medi cation is often used in the psychopharmacological treatment of delusio nal depression. In most studies of the treatment of delusional depress ion, tricyclic antidepressants have been used, and very little has bee n written about experience with SSRIs such as fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, or paroxetine. This paper therefore presents the preliminary findings of an open clinical study in which 14 delusional depressed inpatients , consecutively admitted to our Depression Unit, were given paroxetine combined with either zotepine or haloperidol. It was possible to obse rve a significantly impressive decline in the HAMD (24-item version) t otal score, of so-called delusional items (HAMD subscore of items 2, 1 7, 18, 20, 23, 24) and of the subscore of remaining HAMD items over 21 treatment days. There were no unusual side-effects.