A 40 yr old female patient presents with history of early morning awakening, loss of appetite and no interest in her routines and activities for the past 3 months. Her husband had dies 8 months ago, causing her loneliness. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the management of this patient?
Patient in the question is presenting with persistent classical symptoms of depression (low mood, anhedonia and biological symptoms of depression) and should be managed by antidepressant medications. Choice of drug depends mainly upon side effect profile and the possibility of adverse reactions with other drugs. Adverse life events make people prone to depression. Other factors to be considered includes presence of co-morbid conditions such as cardiac disease, prostatism, epilepsy, other psychiatric disorders such as OCD, vulnerability to develop side effects, dosing regimen, prior personal or family history of response to paicular antidepressant, clinicians experience of paicular drugs and patient preference. Ref: Use of Drugs in Psychiatry: The Evidence from Psychopharmacology By John C. Cookson, page 109; Essentials of medical pharmacology, 5th edition, page 405.
No treatment is necessary
Manage with combination therapy of 2 antidepressant drugs
SSRI's are the most efficacious among the available antidepressant drugs
Antidepressant treatment should be considered based on the side effect profile