Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prophylactic treatment response and its relationship between clinical variables among the bipolar disorder patient group followed up in the Bipolar Disorder Unit of Psychiatry Department of Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine.
Methods: One hundred patients, in euthymic period, diagnosed as bipolar disorder, were included in this study. Affective Disorders Patient Registry Form developed by our unit, SCID-I, Young Mani Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Prophylactic Treatment Response Scale (PTRS) were used in this study to collect the data. These forms were completed through the interviews with the patients and their relatives, and the evaluation of outpatient files.
Results: In this study, 50 of the patients were female, 50 were male. A total of 153 maintenance periods of 100 bipolar patients were examined. In 60.24% of prophylactic treatment periods, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics were used together but only one type of mood stabilizer was used in 30.75% of prophylactic treatment periods. Most frequently preferred mood stabilizer was lithium (43.58%). The prophylactic treatment had an overall positive effect over the course of the illness. The average time to the first period after the prophylactic treatment was 13.32±30.7 (range=0-244) months and a significant decrease was determined in total number of epizodes, epizod frequency and the time with disease periods. When the response to prohylactic treatment was evaluated by PTRS, we determined that the full response rate was 43.8%. As the time with disease periods prolonged and the number of episodes each year got higher the need for antipsychotic use has been increased.
Conclusion: Bipolar disorder is a lifelong disorder that disrupts functioning to a large extend. Because of that the consequence of prophylactic treatment is very important. When the prophylactic treatment is continued pregularly and carefully the time with disease periods decreases significantly. Developing scales that evaluate the effects of prophylactic treatment properly will help to determine specific drug treatments for the patients and their disease.
Key words: bipolar disorder, mood stabilizer, prophylactic treatment
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