Antipsychotics - Articles - Page 3

Clinical Update

Inpatient Use of Benzodiazepines for Patients With Substance Use Disorders

January 31, 2024

Audrey Abelleira, PharmD, BCPP. Clinical pharmacist practitioner, VA Connecticut Healthcare System; clinical instructor, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

Dr. Abelleira has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Benzodiazepines are highly beneficial for managing anxiety and agitation in psychiatric inpatient settings, but we must be cautious about prescribing them to patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Here we review strategies to reduce the risk of benzodiazepine misuse and discuss alternative medication options, including second-generation antipsychotics, antidepressants, gabapentin, and pregabalin.

A New Form of Lithium

January 8, 2024

Chris Aiken, MD and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP

A new formulation of lithium is being developed. Plus updates on lithium in younger, older, and peripartum patients.

Lithium: 12 Updates from 2023

January 1, 2024

Chris Aiken, MD and Kellie Newsome, PMHNP

A year of research on lithium, including updates on its efficacy, renal risks, tremor, and a controlled trial of instant vs. extended release.

Clinical Update

Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

January 1, 2024

Chris Aiken, MD and Paul Riordan, MD.

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief, The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Assistant Professor, NYU Langone Department of Psychiatry. Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC.

Paul Riordan, MD. Assistant Consulting Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC.

The authors have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Negative symptoms are the primary cause of disability in schizophrenia, and we identify a few antipsychotics and a few add-on therapies that can help.

Research Update

Antipsychotics in Pregnancy and Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

October 3, 2023

Sébastien Hardy, PharmD, BCPS.

Sébastien Hardy, PharmD, BCPS. Dr. Hardy has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

This large study gives us reassuring data about neurodevelopmental outcomes in children exposed to several second-generation antipsychotic medications during pregnancy.

Clinical Update

Postpartum Psychosis: A Primer

October 3, 2023

Victoria Hendrick, MD. and Reid Mergler, MD

Reid Mergler, MD. Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Center for Women’s Behavioral Wellness, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Victoria Hendrick, MD. Chief of Inpatient Psychiatry and Clinical Professor, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; Editor-in-Chief, The Carlat Hospital Psychiatry Report.

Dr. Mergler and Dr. Hendrick have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Postpartum psychosis can develop very quickly in new mothers who looked well just hours earlier. While rare, it is a true psychiatric emergency.

Clinical Update

The Antipsychotic-Stimulant Combo

September 1, 2023

Avneet Soin, MD., Chris Aiken, MD, and Deepti Anbarasan, MD.

Avneet Soin, MD. Psychiatry resident, NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Deepti Anbarasan, MD. Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Neurology, New York University, New York.

Chris Aiken, MD. Editor-in-Chief, The Carlat Psychiatry Report; Assistant Professor, NYU Langone Department of Psychiatry; practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC.

Deepti Anbarasan, MD. Associate Professor, Psychiatry & Neurology, New York University, New York

Dr. Soin, Dr. Anbarasan, and Dr. Aiken have no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

As antipsychotic indications have spread, more patients are taking them in combination with their opposite: a stimulant. We look at the risks, search for scenarios where it might make sense, and come up with an action plan for this paradoxical pairing.

Research Update

Antipsychotics in Inpatient Children and Adolescents with Seclusion and Restraint

August 1, 2023

Susie Morris, MD.

Susie Morris, MD. Dr. Morris has no financial relationships with companies related to this material

How effective are antipsychotic agents in reducing agitation in kids? According to this study, they don’t seem all that helpful, at least not in terms of reducing kids’ time in seclusion or restraints. While several confounding factors complicate the authors’ conclusions, try alternative interventions, like behavioral approaches, until we have more definitive data.

Research Update

Probiotics, Dietary Fiber, and Antipsychotic Weight Gain

July 3, 2023

Jeffrey Cardenas, MD

Jeffrey Cardenas, MD. Dr. Cardenas has no financial relationships with companies related to this material.

Probiotics may reduce metabolic side effects on antipsychotics, but do they need dietary fiber to work?

QT Intervals in Psychiatric Practice

June 19, 2023

Victoria Hendrick, MD. and Prabhjot Gill

Several psychiatric medications prolong the QTc interval and place patients at risk of the dreaded torsade de pointes. Some patients are particularly vulnerable to QTc prolongation: the elderly, patients with heart disease and electrolyte imbalances, and patients taking certain medications, like thioridazine and ziprasidone. In this podcast, we provide a step-by-step guide so that you can keep your patients safe from this cardiovascular side effect.