| Summary: | This study examined the efficacy of psychiatric inpatient treatment and the use of psychopharmacological medication in
adolescents with a depressive disorder. The study sample consisted of 13–17 years old adolescents (n=256) treated due
to a depressive disorder in the two adolescent psychiatric units of Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, during the ten
years 2002–2011. The data concerning demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes and medication were
collected from the patients’ medical records. Approximately 70% of hospitalizations terminated with satisfactory clinical
results. Inpatient treatment was more beneficial for the patients with a non-psychotic depression, whereas every second
adolescent with a psychotic depression had still low psychosocial functioning at discharge (median GAS scores at discharge
45 vs. 40, p=0.001). Psychotropic medication was utilized in 95% of all hospitalizations. Mirtazapine, selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and atypical antipsychotics were the most frequently prescribed medications. Antidepressants
and antipsychotics induced adverse events rather frequently (23% and 31%, respectively), but serious side effects such as
worsening of psychiatric symptoms, cardiac problems and metabolic changes were rare. Psychopharmacological medication
has to be individually tailored and require frequent monitoring of the clinical response, side effects and safety. Both clinical
and controlled trials investigating the utility of psychopharmacological treatments in young patients are needed.
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