World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Unipolar Depressive Disorders,Part 2: Maintenance Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder and Treatment of Chronic Depressive Disorders and Subthreshold Depressions

Summary: These practice guidelines for the biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP), The goal for developing these guidelines was to systematically review all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of the complete spectrum of unipolar depressive disorders, and to produce a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by all physicians seeing and treating patients with these conditions. The data used for developing these guidelines have been extracted primarily from various national treatment guidelines and panels for depressive disorders, as well as from meta-analyses and reviews on the efficacy of antidepressant medications and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and was then categorized into four levels of evidence (A-D). The first part of these WFSBP guidelines on unipolar depressive disorders covered the acute and continuation treatment of major depressive disorder (Bauer et al 2002). This second part of the guidelines covers the management of the maintenance-phase treatment of major depressive disorder, as well as the treatment of chronic and subthreshold depressive disorders (dysthymic disorder, double depression, minor depressive disorder and recurrent brief depression). These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antidepressants, lithium, other psychopharmacological and hormonal medications, and electroconvulsive therapy) of young adults and also, albeit to a lesser extent, children, adolescents and older adults.

1 It is emphasized that the treatment of dysthymic disorders, subthreshold depressions and other chronic depressive disorders does not involve only long-term treatment but also acute treatment. However, for editorial reasons only, both acute and long-term treatment issues are covered in Part 2 of these guidelines.

2 It is emphasized that a graded efficacy evaluation has its limitations. The strength of a recommendation reflects the scientific evidence on which it is based and not necessarily its importance. Levels of recommendation only apply to treatment and not to other aspects.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Unipolar Depressive Disorders, Part 1: Acute and continuation treatment of major depressive disorder.

These practice guidelines for the biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). The goal for developing these guidelines was to systematically review all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of unipolar depressive disorders, and to produce a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by all physicians seeing and treating patients with these conditions. The data used for developing these guidelines have been extracted primarily from various national treatment guidelines and panels for depressive disorders, as well as from meta-analyses and reviews on the efficacy of antidepressant medications and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and was then categorized into four levels of evidence (A-D). This first part of the guidelines covers disease definition, classification, epidemiology and course of unipolar depressive disorders, as well as the management of the acute and continuation-phase treatment. These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antidepressants, other psychopharmacological and hormonal medications, electroconvulsive therapy, light therapy, adjunctive and novel therapeutic strategies) of young adults and also, albeit to a lesser extent, children, adolescents and older adults.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Unipolar Depressive Disorders. Part 2: Maintenance Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder-Update 2015

These guidelines for the treatment of unipolar depressive disorders systematically review available evidence pertaining to the biological treatment of patients with major depression and produce a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by all physicians assessing and treating patients with these conditions. The relevant data have been extracted primarily from various treatment guidelines and panels for depressive disorders, as well as from meta-analyses/reviews on the efficacy of antidepressant medications and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and was then categorized into five levels of evidence (CE A-F) and five levels of recommendation grades (RG 1–5). This second part of the WFSBP guidelines on depressive disorders covers the management of the maintenance phase treatment, and is primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including pharmacological and hormonal medications, electroconvulsive therapy and other brain stimulation treatments) of adults and also, albeit to a lesser extent, children, adolescents and older adults.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Unipolar Depressive Disorders in Primary Care.

These practical guidelines for the biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders in primary care settings were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). They embody the results of a systematic review of all available clinical and scientific evidence pertaining to the treatment of unipolar depressive disorders and offer practical recommendations for general practitioners encountering patients with these conditions. The guidelines cover disease definition, classification, epidemiology and course of unipolar depressive disorders, and the principles of management in the acute, continuation and maintenance phase. They deal primarily with biological treatment (including antidepressants, other psychopharmacological and hormonal medications, electroconvulsive therapy, light therapy).     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Unipolar Depressive Disorders,Part 1: Update 2013 on the acute and continuation treatment of unipolar depressive disorders

Abstract

Objectives. This 2013 update of the practice guidelines for the biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders was developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). The goal has been to systematically review all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of unipolar depressive disorders, and to produce a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. The guidelines are intended for use by all physicians seeing and treating patients with these conditions. Methods. The 2013 update was conducted by a systematic update literature search and appraisal. All recommendations were approved by the Guidelines Task Force. Results. This first part of the guidelines (Part 1) covers disease definition, classification, epidemiology, and course of unipolar depressive disorders, as well as the management of the acute and continuation phase treatment. It is primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antidepressants, other psychopharmacological medications, electroconvulsive therapy, light therapy, adjunctive and novel therapeutic strategies) of adults. Conclusions. To date, there is a variety of evidence-based antidepressant treatment options available. Nevertheless there is still a substantial proportion of patients not achieving full remission. In addition, somatic and psychiatric comorbidities and other special circumstances need to be more thoroughly investigated. Therefore, further high-quality informative randomized controlled trials are urgently needed.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Substance Use and Related Disorders, Part 1: Alcoholism.

These practice guidelines for the biological treatment of substance use disorders were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). The goal during the development of these guidelines was to review systematically all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of substance use disorders, and to reach a consensus on a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by physicians evaluating and treating people with substance use disorders and are primarily concerned with the biological treatment of adults suffering from substance use disorders. The data used to develop these guidelines were extracted primarily from various national treatment guidelines for substance use disorders, as well as from meta-analyses, reviews and randomized clinical trials on the efficacy of pharmacological and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and then categorized into four levels of evidence (A-D). This first part of the guidelines covers the treatment of alcohol dependence; Part 2 will be devoted to the treatment of drug dependence.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia, part 2: long-term treatment of schizophrenia.

These guidelines for the biological treatment of schizophrenia were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). The goal during the development of these guidelines was to review systematically all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of schizophrenia, and to reach a consensus on a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by all physicians seeing and treating people with schizophrenia. The data used for developing these guidelines have been extracted primarily from various national treatment guidelines and panels for schizophrenia, as well as from meta-analyses, reviews and randomised clinical trials on the efficacy of pharmacological and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and then categorised into four levels of evidence (A-D). This second part of the guidelines covers the long-term treatment as well as the management of relevant side effects. These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antipsychotic medication, other pharmacological treatment options, electroconvulsive therapy, adjunctive and novel therapeutic strategies) of adults suffering from schizophrenia.     

The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for the Biological Treatment of Substance Use and Related Disorders. Part 2: Opioid dependence

Abstract

Objectives. To develop evidence-based practice guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of opioid abuse and dependence. Methods. An international task force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) developed these practice guidelines after a systematic review of the available evidence pertaining to the treatment of opioid dependence. On the basis of the evidence, the Task Force reached a consensus on practice recommendations, which are intended to be clinically and scientifically meaningful for physicians who treat adults with opioid dependence. The data used to develop these guidelines were extracted primarily from national treatment guidelines for opioid use disorders, as well as from meta-analyses, reviews, and publications of randomized clinical trials on the efficacy of pharmacological and other biological treatments for these disorders. Publications were identified by searching the MEDLINE database and the Cochrane Library. The literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for efficacy, which was categorized into one of six levels (A–F). Results. There is an excellent evidence base supporting the efficacy of methadone and buprenorphine or the combination of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid withdrawal, with clonidine and lofexidine as secondary or adjunctive medications. Opioid maintenance with methadone and buprenorphine is the best-studied and most effective treatment for opioid dependence, with heroin and naltrexone as second-line medications. Conclusions. There is enough high quality data to formulate evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of opioid abuse and dependence. This task force report provides evidence for the efficacy of a number of medications to treat opioid abuse and dependence, particularly the opioid agonists methadone or buprenorphine. These medications have great relevance for clinical practice.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of personality disorders.

These practical guidelines for the biological treatment of personality disorders in primary care settings were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). They embody the results of a systematic review of all available clinical and scientific evidence pertaining to the biological treatment of three specific personality disorders, namely borderline, schizotypal and anxious/avoidant personality disorder in addition to some general recommendations for the whole field. The guidelines cover disease definition, classification, epidemiology, course and current knowledge on biological underpinnings, and provide a detailed overview on the state of the art of clinical management. They deal primarily with biological treatment (including antidepressants, neuroleptics, mood stabilizers and some further pharmacological agents) and discuss the relative significance of medication within the spectrum of treatment strategies that have been tested for patients with personality disorders, up to now. The recommendations should help the clinician to evaluate the efficacy spectrum of psychotropic drugs and therefore to select the drug best suited to the specific psychopathology of an individual patient diagnosed for a personality disorder.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Schizophrenia Part 3: Update 2015 Management of special circumstances: Depression,Suicidality, substance use disorders and pregnancy and lactation

These updated guidelines are based on the first edition of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia published in the years 2005 and 2006. For this 2015 revision, all available publications pertaining to the biological treatment of schizophrenia were reviewed systematically to allow for an evidence-based update. These guidelines provide evidence-based practice recommendations which are clinically and scientifically relevant. They are intended to be used by all physicians diagnosing and treating patients with schizophrenia. Based on the first version of these guidelines a systematic review, as well as a data extraction from national guidelines have been performed for this update. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and subsequently categorised into six levels of evidence (A–F) and five levels of recommendation (1–5). This third part of the updated guidelines covers the management of the following specific treatment circumstances: comorbid depression, suicidality, various comorbid substance use disorders (legal and illegal drugs), and pregnancy and lactation. These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antipsychotic medication and other pharmacological treatment options) of patients with schizophrenia.     

Guidelines for biological treatment of substance use and related disorders,part 1: Alcoholism,first revision

These practice guidelines for the biological treatment of alcohol use disorders are an update of the first edition, published in 2008, which was developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). For this 2016 revision, we performed a systematic review (MEDLINE/PUBMED database, Cochrane Library) of all available publications pertaining to the biological treatment of alcoholism and extracted data from national guidelines. The Task Force evaluated the identified literature with respect to the strength of evidence for the efficacy of each medication and subsequently categorised it into six levels of evidence (A–F) and five levels of recommendation (1–5). Thus, the current guidelines provide a clinically and scientifically relevant, evidence-based update of our earlier recommendations. These guidelines are intended for use by clinicians and practitioners who evaluate and treat people with alcohol use disorders and are primarily concerned with the biological treatment of adults with such disorders.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia, Part 1: acute treatment of schizophrenia.

These guide lines for the biological treatment of schizophrenia were developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBO). The goal during the development of these guidelines was to review systematically all available evidence pertaining to the treatment of schizophrenia, and to reach a consensus on a series of practice recommendations that are clinically and scientifically meaningful based on the available evidence. These guidelines are intended for use by all physicians seeing and treating people with schizophrenia. The data used for developing these guidelines have been extracted primarily from various national treatment guidelines and panels for schizophrenia, as well as from meta-analyses, reviews and randomised clinical trials on the efficacy of pharmacological and other biological treatment interventions identified by a search of the MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library. The identified literature was evaluated with respect to the strength of evidence for its efficacy and then categorised into four levels of evidence (A-D). This first part of the guidelines covers disease definition, classification, epidemiology and course of schizophrenia, as well as the management of the acute phase treatment. These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antipsychotic medication, other pharmacological treatment options, electroconvulsive therapy, adjunctive and novel therapeutic strategies) of adults suffering from schizophrenia.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of bipolar disorders. Part I: Treatment of bipolar depression.

These practice guidelines for the biological, mainly pharmacological treatment of bipolar depression were developed by an international task force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). Their purpose is to supply a systematic overview of all scientific evidence pertaining to the treatment of bipolar depression. The data used for these guidelines have been extracted from a MEDLINE and EMBASE search, and from recent proceedings of key conferences and various national and international treatment guidelines. Their scientific rigor was categorised into four levels of evidence (A-D). As these guidelines are intended for clinical use, the scientific evidence was not only graded, but also commented on by the experts of the task force to ensure practicability.     

World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Bipolar Disorders,Part I: Treatment of Bipolar Depression

Summary: These practice guidelines for the biological, mainly pharmacological treatment of bipolar depression were developed by an international task force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP). Their purpose is to supply a systematic overview of all scientific evidence pertaining to the treatment of bipolar depression. The data used for these guidelines have been extracted from a MEDLINE and EMBASE search, and from recent proceedings of key conferences and various national and international treatment guidelines. Their scientific rigor was categorised into four levels of evidence (A-D). As these guidelines are intended for clinical use, the scientific evidence was not only graded, but also commented on by the experts of the task force to ensure practicability.     

Biological psychiatry and current classifications of depressive disorders

By means of a review of genetic, biological and neurophysiological studies, we attempted to validate the DSM III-R depressive disorder categories. Genetic studies support the distinction between bipolar and recurrent major (unipolar) depression although genetic heterogeneity and variable phenotypic expressivity have been suggested in bipolar depression. Biological and neuroendocrine abnormalities in depression seem to relate more to a particular symptomatological profile than to a specific depressive subtype including the bipolar-unipolar dichotomy. For example, catecholamines and serotonin metabolism seem to reflect respectively psychomotor status and aggressiveness in depression. Using genetic and biological criteria, major depression with psychotic features is the best validated category of the four main DSM-R major depressive subclasses or specifications (psychotic, chronic, melancholic, seasonal). Psychotic depression seems to constitute the most coherent subgroup and biological abnormalities such as dexamethasone non suppression and shortened REM latency are very often observed. An important confounding variable in these biological validation studies is the severity of the depressive state. Psychotic depression is considered to be a more severe depressive subtype and also shows marked biological disturbances. Conversely, in seasonal depression, a less severe depressive subtype, CSF monoamine metabolism abnormalities, dexamethasone non suppression and shortened REM latency could not clearly be demonstrated. Genetic studies show that early onset dysthymia and cyclothymia could be part of the affective spectrum and some maintain that these two clinical entities are attenued forms of bipolar or recurrent major depression.     

Pharmacological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders: summary of WFSBP guidelines

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mood disorder affecting individuals of all ages and is characterised by single or recurrent major depressive episodes. Key elements of acute and maintenance treatment of MDD include pharmacotherapy, and psychological approaches such as psychoeducation and adherence monitoring.

Methods: This summary of the ‘Practice guidelines for the biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders’ comprises acute, continuation and maintenance treatment developed by an international Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP), and focuses on pharmacological treatment options.

Results: A variety of different antidepressants are available for the effective acute and prophylactic treatment of depressed patients. Randomised placebo-controlled efficacy studies indicate that all major classes of antidepressants are effective in acute treatment but also in preventing recurrence of depression showing about a two-fold higher relapse rate with placebo treatment. Evidence suggests that the ‘newer’ antidepressants have superior long-term effectiveness due to better tolerability and safety profile compared to traditional antidepressants, e.g., the tricyclic antidepressants (TCA).

Conclusions: Despite progress in the availability of different treatment options there is still a substantial proportion of patients who do not achieve full remission. Several add-on pharmacological treatment options are among the best-evidenced strategies for refractory depressed patients.     

Evidence of treatment for depressive episodes of bipolar disorder

In recent years, many papers on the treatment of the depressive phase of bipolar disorder (bipolar depression), especially bipolar I disorder, with high-level evidence, have been reported. The results of meta-analyses have also been reported for some medications. In the pharmacotherapy for bipolar depression, quetiapine (300 mg/day), lithium (more than 0.8 mEq/L), olanzapine (5-20 mg/day) and lamotrigine (200 mg/day) are effective, with high-level evidence. The combination of lithium and lamotrigine is also effective for bipolar depression. There is no evidence for effectiveness of the combination of mood stabilizers and antidepressants for bipolar depression. This paper presents the evidence data of quetiapine, lithium, olanzapine, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, valproate, aripiprazole, antidepressants, a combination of medications, and electroconvulsive therapy for bipolar depression, based on large-size randomized controlled studies and meta-analyses. The first-line medications for bipolar depression in the practice guidelines published for the last three years are also included.     

Clinical guidelines for depressive disorders in childhood and adolescence

 Major depressive and dysthymic disorders are recurrent and sometimes persistent unipolar mood disorders, which often present in childhood and adolescence. Depressive episodes may increase in severity and duration with recurrence and are associated with substantial morbidity and risk of suicide. The role of child and adolescent mental health services in early intervention and management is thus of major importance. This paper draws together current research evidence and common clinical practice, in guidelines for the specialist management of depressive disorders in childhood and adolescence. Both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy have been found to be beneficial for the acute treatment of children and adolescents with depressive disorders. Based on current evidence, psychotherapy may be the first treatment for most depressed youngsters, but antidepressants should be considered for those with severe depression. All patients need continuation therapy, and some will need maintenance treatment. Evidence supporting the efficacy of psychological and psychopharmacological treatments are reviewed. An integration of approaches is suggested as a guideline for treatment planning. Accepted: 15 February 2000     

The clinical usefulness of lithium as an antidepressant

Much attention has been directed toward the use of lithium in bipolar depressive illness (manic-depressive illness), but fewer studies have evaluated lithium's efficacy in unipolar depressive disorders. This paper critically reviews the literature dealing with the use of lithium for the treatment of acute unipolar depression as well as for prophylaxis against future depressive episodes. Differences in study design, entry criteria, serum lithium level, dose, patient population, and diagnosis are highlighted; these variations help explain some of the controversy surrounding the use of lithium in unipolar depression. The available information indicates that lithium should be seriously considered as an effective alternative for the treatment of unipolar depression when other antidepressant medications are ineffective or contraindicated.     

Are bipolar I depressive patients less responsive to treatment with antidepressants than unipolar depressive patients? Results from a case control study.

The increasing evidence that bipolar and unipolar affective disorders have different biological etiologies and courses of illness has been associated with an intensifying interest in specific treatment regimens for both disorders during the last decade. In this context, the question arose whether antidepressants exert similar efficacy in the acute treatment of bipolar compared to unipolar depression. Although the clinical impression does not indicate substantial differences in the efficacy of antidepressants between these groups of patients, empirical databases concerning this topic are rare. The present study compared the efficacy of antidepressants in 50 unipolar and 50 bipolar depressed inpatients (ICD-9 criteria) under naturalistic treatment conditions. Both groups of patients were matched for age, gender and duration of illness. Clinical assessments of status at the time of admission and at discharge were used to rate response to antidepressant treatment. Analyses of the data revealed that both groups of patients needed the same time for treatment response and did not show any significant differences in outcome measures at discharge. These findings do not concur with the hypothesis formulated by some experts in the field of affective disorders that antidepressants are less effective in the acute treatment of bipolar depressed patients compared to unipolar depressed patients.