Adherence to antidepressant therapy for major depressive patients in a psychiatric hospital in Thailand

Poor adherence to antidepressant therapy is an important barrier to the effective management of major depressive disorder. Aims: To quantify the adherence rate to antidepressant treatment and to determine the pattern of prescriptions of depressed patients in a psychiatric institute in Thailand.

Methods: This retrospective study used electronic pharmacy data of outpatients aged 15 or older, with a new diagnosis of major depression who received at least one prescription of antidepressants between August 2005 and September 2008.

The medication possession ratio (MPR) was used to measure adherence over a 6 month period.

Results: 1,058 were eligible for study inclusion. The overall adherence (MPR>80%) in those attending this facility at least twice was 41% but if we assume that all patients who attended only once were non-adherent, adherence may be as low as 23%.

Fluoxetine was the most commonly prescribed drug followed by TCAs. A large proportion ofcases received more than one drug during one visit or was switched from one drug to another (39%)..

Conclusions: Adherence to antidepressant therapy for treatment of major depression in Thailand is rather low compared to results of adherence from elsewhere.

Author: Benjamas PrukkanoneTheo VosPhilip BurgessNathorn ChaiyakunaprukMelanie Bertram
Credits/Source: BMC Psychiatry 2010, 10:64

Published on: 2010-08-23

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