The patient is currently taking Sertraline 100mg daily. If the patient takes the medication as prescribed, the patient should see improvement in depressive symptoms. The scenario does not state how long the patient has been taking Sertraline. One side effect of SSRIs is that they can cause insomnia. At this time, it is appropriate to consider augmenting the Sertraline with a low dose TCA like trazodone. Research suggests that short-term use of a TCA can improve sleep as soon as the first dose (Wichniak et al., 2017). It is important to remember that when the patient’s depression symptoms improve, the TCA should be lowered or discontinued because it can cause oversedation (Wichniak et al., 2017).
Sertraline makes it difficult to keep blood sugar stable. It can also be recommended to switch the anti-depressant to Bupropion. Studies have shown that in patients with diabetes, burproprione successfully treats depression and controls blood sugar levels (Darwish et al., 2018). It would be necessary to monitor the patient’s blood pressure as bupropion can elevate blood pressure (Darwish et al., 2018).
For the drug therapy, you select, identify any contraindications to use or alterations in dosing that may need to be considered based on ethical prescribing or decision-making. Discuss why the contraindication/alteration you identify exists. That is, what would be problematic with the use of this drug in individuals based on ethical prescribing guidelines or decision-making?
Sertraline is contraindicated in patients taking thioridazine, pimozide, or monoamine oxidase inhibitors, including linezolid or methylene blue, and it should not be taken with other serotonergic medications (Singh & Saadabad, 2020). Buspirone is contradicted in patients with kidney and liver disease as the drug’s effects may increase due to slow kidney or liver removal. Trazadone is contraindicated for anyone taking an MAOI or has taken an MAOI in the past 14 days (Shin & Saadabadi, 2020).
Include any “check points” (i.e., follow-up data at Week 4, 8, 12, etc.), and indicate any therapeutic changes that you might make based on possible outcomes that may happen given your treatment options chosen.
It would be necessary to follow up with the patient in four weeks to see if adding Trazadone improves the patient’s sleep. If there is no improvement in the patient’s sleep or depressive symptoms, it would be time to consider changing the patient’s medication to buspirone.
References
Assessment of depression in adults in primary care [PDF]. (2020). Best Practice Medicine Journal New Zealand. https://bpac.org.nz/magazine/2009/Adultdep/docs/bpjse_adult_dep_assess_pages8- 12.pdf
Brown, E., Raue, P. J., & Halpert, K. (2015). Evidence-based practice guideline: Depression detection in older adults with dementia. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 41(11), 15– 21. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20151015-03
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