Reviewed by Penny Randall, MD, MBA
Executive Director of Medical and Scientific Services for Quintiles, Inc., San Diego, California
Psychiatry (Edgemont). 2009;6(5):14
In this updated edition of Outpatient Management of Depression, Sheldon Preskorn, MD provides a valuable resource for virtually any clinician who treats patients with depression. Dr. Preskorn reviews, in a clear and concise manner, the basic neurobiologic underpinning depression. He takes us through the initiation of antidepressant therapy, covering, objectively, the important trade-offs in choosing one antidepressant treatment over another, including safety, efficacy, ease of administration, price, and potential drug-drug interactions. Dr. Preskorn has included numerous tables and figures, which make the book a handy reference.
Both the primary care physician and the psychiatrist will find the book to be informative. Dr. Preskorn devotes a chapter to diagnosing depressed patients in primary care settings. In the final chapters, he provides a framework on how to approach the patient who fails to respond well to antidepressant therapy. Dr. Preskorn reviews the value of various combination therapies and newer approved treatments for depression—vagus nerve stimulation and second-generation antipsychotic medications. Finally, Dr. Preskorn summarizes the recent results from the large NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) STAR*D (Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression) study.
The updated third edition of Outpatient Management of Depression will be an important resource for the primary care physician and the psychiatrist. The author, Sheldon H. Preskorn, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry at the Kansas University School of Medicine-Wichita (KUAM-W) and Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of the Clinical Research Institute in Wichita, Kansas.
Outpatient Management of Depression, Third Edition is written by Sheldon H. Preskorn, MD, and is published Professional Communications, Inc. (2009, 288pp., $24.95).
