Förändringar i förskrivningen till patienter med bipolära syndrom. Ökad användning av lamotrigin och minskning av litium
Sammanfattning
Lithium is a first line option in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder, but several alternative treatment regimens have been introduced in recent years, among them treatment with antiepileptic compounds and atypical
antipsychotic drugs. Little is known about if and how this has changed the prescription patterns of mood stabilizers. We analysed trends in prescription of mood stabilisers in Sweden using the national quality register for bipolar
disorder (BipoläR), the Prescribed Drug Register, and the Patient Register during the years 2007-2011. We found that lithium use decreased while lamotrigine use increased in bipolar patients. These changes could not be ex
plained by differences in bipolar subtypes; lithium use decreased in both bipolar type I and type II, and the use of lamotrigine increased in bipolar type II. Lithium use was more common in men, whereas lamotrigine use was more
common in women. The prescription of other mood stabilisers did not change during these years.