APA Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Major Depressive - Abilify

Revised APA Guidelines for the Acute-Phase Treatment of MDD 3
Adapted from: American Psychiatric Association. Practice Guideline
for the Treatment of Patients With Major Depressive Disorder, 3rd ed.
Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2010.
*Switch to MAOI as an option only if patients can adhere to dietary and medication restrictions, and after allowing enough time between medications to avoid any
adverse interactions.
ECT=electroconvulsive therapy; MAOI=monoamine oxidase inhibitor.
These parameters of practice should be considered guidelines only and not standards of medical care.
Increased Mortality in Elderly Patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis
Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs
are at an increased risk (1.6 to 1.7 times) of death compared to placebo (4.5% vs 2.6%,
respectively). Although the causes of death were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either
cardiovascular (eg, heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (eg, pneumonia) in nature. ABILIFY ®
(aripiprazole) is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis.
Augmentation Options for No/Partial Response to
Antidepressant Therapy in the Revised APA Practice Guideline 3
Not all products in the therapeutic categories listed are indicated for adjunctive treatment in adult MDD patients with an inadequate
response to antidepressant therapy.
Augmentation Options*
Psychotherapy
Antidepressant †
Atypical Antipsychotic
Thyroid Hormone
Mood Stabilizer
Anticonvulsant
Psychostimulant
Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Folic Acid
Anxiolytic or Sedative/Hypnotic
*Classes of medication have been used in this table in place of specific drug names.
†Includes non-MAOI and MAOI antidepressants.
Please see the APA Practice Guideline for further information on the specific options for ADT augmentation.
Level of Clinical Confidence (I-III)‡
I
II
II
II
II
III
III
III
III
III
‡KEY
Level I=Recommended with
substantial clinical confidence.
Level II=Recommended with
moderate clinical confidence.
Level III=May be recommended
on the basis of individual
circumstances.
Please see IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION, including Boxed WARNINGS,
for ABILIFY ® (aripiprazole) on pages 5-7.
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