Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:22:57.422Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Commentary on litigation and the toxicity of psychotropic drugs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Patricia Casey
Patricia Casey*
Affiliation:
Deptartment of Psychiatry, Mater Hospital, 62 Eccles St, Dublin 7, Ireland
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

What is striking about Leonard's clarion call to the litigants and the legal profession is that he made similar calls over the last number of years, issuing dire predictions of the poor defence a hapless psychiatrist would have in the wake of a completed suicide as a result of an antidepressant overdose, when safer drugs were available. Such a spate of litigation has not followed nor, have the regulatory authorities expressed an interest in the matter. This is simply because a case against a doctor is unlikely to be successful when he or she is acting in accordance with a recognised body of practice within that profession, even though others hold the opposite view, provided of course there is no evidence of overt negligence such as failing to assess current suicidal ideation. Indeed in circumstances where active suicide ideation is present, to only prescribe an antidepressant, even if it were an SSRI, could be deemed negligent if suicide follows since such a patient should be hospitalised.

Type
Editorial
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 1996 , pp. 89 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

References

1.Anderson, IM, Tomenson, BM. Treatment discontinuation with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors compared with tricyclic antidepressants: a meta-analysis. BMJ 1995, 310: 1433–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Donovan, S, McGrady, H, Pownall, R. The efficacy and tolerability of dothiepin and three selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in the treatment of major depression: a review of six double blind studies. Curr Therapeut Res 1993; 54: 275–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Jick, SS, Dean, AD, Jick, H. Antidepressants and suicide. BMJ 1995; 310: 215–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Leonard, BE. Toxicity of antidepressants. Lancet 1986; 1: 1105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Leonard, BE. Toxicity of antidepressants in overdose. Int J Pharmacological Res 1989;1(2): 101–10.Google Scholar
6.Leonard, B. Litigation and the toxicity of psychotropic drugs. Ir J Psych Med 1996; 13(3):88–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Office of Population Censuses and Statistics. Mortality statistics. London: HMSO, 1992.Google Scholar
8.Office of Population Censuses and Statistics. Mortality statistics. London: HMSO, 1993.Google Scholar