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The Dexamethasone Suppression Test and Suicidal Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Jon Ennis ,
Rosemary A. Barnes  and
Sidney Kennedy
Jon Ennis*
Affiliation:
Toronto General Hospital and University of Toronto
Rosemary A. Barnes
Affiliation:
Toronto General Hospital and University of Toronto
Sidney Kennedy
Affiliation:
Toronto General Hospital and University of Toronto
*
∗Dr. Jon Ennis, Department of Psychiatry, Toronto General Hospital, Eaton Building, Eighth Floor, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1L7, Canada
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Abstract

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was used in an in-patient crisis unit to determine whether the test could identify suicidal patients who might benefit from tricyclic antidepressants. DST results, DSM-III diagnoses, and measures of symptom levels were obtained for 72 patients admitted for a 3–5 day period; 31 were non-suppressors. Abnormal DST results were not related to DSM-III diagnosis or to scores on measures of depression and symptom levels. Only three patients met DSM-III criteria for major depression with melancholia; 26 patients had a diagnosis of alcohol or substance abuse. The poor specificity of the DST in this patient population suggests that its routine use in such patients could be highly misleading.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 419 - 423
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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