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Fluoxetine and Suicidal Behaviour

Some Clinical and Theoretical Aspects of a Controversy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. C. Power  and
P. J. Cowen
A. C. Power
Affiliation:
Warneford Hospital, Oxford
P. J. Cowen*
Affiliation:
Littlemore Hospital, Oxford OX4 4XN
*
∗Correspondence
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Extract

“In the practical decisions of life it will scarcely ever be possible to go through all the arguments in favour of or against one possible decision, and one will therefore always have to act on insufficient evidence” Werner Heisenberg (1962).

The development of selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has added a new dimension to the pharmacotherapy of depression. Their lack of sedative and anticholinergic effects together with relative safety in overdose, has led some authors to suggest that the older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) should not now be considered a first-line treatment (Montgomery, 1988). However, since a report by Teicher et al (1990) of suicidal preoccupation associated with fluoxetine treatment, there has been both intense media interest and animated correspondence in clinical and scientific journals (O'Donnell, 1991).

Type
Annotation
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 , Issue 6 , December 1992 , pp. 735 - 741
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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