Polypharmacy in psychiatric treatment. Patterns of psychotropic drug use in Austrian psychiatric clinics

There are great variations in the way psychotropic drugs are prescribed. Mo st experts are in favour of psychopharmacological monotherapy, but little i s known about the extent to which it is actually practised. A survey of the psychopharmacologicaI medication of all patients under treatment was carri ed out in three Austrian psychiatric clinics of various types on two separa te days. A psychiatric university clinic, the psychiatric department of a g eneral hospital and a regional mental hospital were selected for the survey . It was established that only 8% to 22% of the patients underwent psycho-pha rmacological monotherapy and that the patients received 2.2 to 3.3 psychotr opics on average. Five to 22% of the patients received five or more psychot ropic agents. The results are presented in more detail in relation to the d iagnoses of schizophrenia and depression. The rare occurence of monotherapy might be due to unsound treatment regimens in some instances, but much mor e to a general trend in psychiatry fostering polydrug use. (C) 1999 Elsevie r, Paris.