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Abstract
Objective. To investigate whether treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) could be withdrawn for elderly residents who had been on treatment for at least one year and to evaluate a method for systematic drug review. Design. Open, prospective, interventional study. Setting. Four counties in Sweden. Subjects. Elderly residents at 19 nursing homes, with ongoing treatment with SSRIs for more than one year. Main outcome measures. Clinical evaluation, registration of drugs used and rating with Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). A semi-structured telephone interview with 15 participating physicians and 19 nurses. Results. About one-third of all 822 residents in the nursing homes had ongoing antidepressant treatment, predominantly with SSRIs; 75% of them had been treated with SSRIs for at least one year and 119 (60%) of these were considered eligible for the study. The intervention was judged successful in 52% of these residents of whom 88% had a MADRS rating of less than 20 points. The GPs and the nurses experienced the method as practicable. Conclusions. Withdrawal of SSRI treatment was successful in the majority of cases. The MADRS may be a valuable addition to clinical evaluation when deciding whether to end or continue SSRI treatment.
