Objective: This study examined the patterns and predictors of medication use and 24-month course/outcome in first-admission patients with major depressive disorder with psychotic features (MDD/P).
Method: An epidemiological sample of 87 first-admission patients with research diagnoses of MDD/P received intensive clinical assessments at baseline and at 6- and 24-month follow-ups and telephone assessments at 3-month intervals. Use of medications (antidepressant [AD], antipsychotic [AP], and antimanic agents) was determined from self-reports corroborated by external sources where possible. Outcome was assessed with the Global Assessment of Functioning and consensus evaluations of illness course and time in remission.
Results: More patients received APs (77.0%) than ADs (57.5%) at discharge, with almost half (49.4%) receiving these in combination. At 24-month follow-up, 40.2% reported using no medications; 39.1% used ADs, and 32.2% used APs. Only early AD use predicted regular AD use during the 6- to 24-month follow-up. A minority (29%) achieved functional recovery (Global Assessment of Functioning score > or = 71) by 24 months. Although about 60% of the sample achieved a period of complete remission by 24 months, only about 40% had a sustained remission for at least 19 months. Medication use was not predictive of these outcome measures. There was little evidence that changes in medication, augmentation strategies, or electroconvulsive therapy was used to reduce symptoms during the 24-month follow-up. Fewer than half of our subjects received a MDD/P clinical diagnosis at discharge, which appeared to influence medication use patterns over the 24-month follow-up.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that for most of these patients with MDD/P, outcome was suboptimal for both functional and syndromal recovery. The lack of an association between medication use and outcome suggests that medication changing and augmentation strategies, electroconvulsive therapy use, and/or strategies to improve medication adherence might be considered in the treatment of patients with MDD/P who remain low functioning and symptomatic even while receiving pharmacotherapy. Finally, our findings highlight the need for routine systematic diagnostic procedures to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatment of MDD/P at first admission as well as the need for replication of our findings in a more contemporary sample.