Managing the Side Effects of Psychotropic Medications

Managing the Side Effects of Psychotropic Medications provides comprehensive, pragmatic information on anticipating and countering adverse drug effects when they occur. Cowritten by a research psychopharmacologist and a consultation-liaison psychiatrist, this book fills a void in the literature, helping mental health practitioners assess the risks and benefits of specific psychotropic medications and undertake strategies for managing adverse effects. This volume includes a wealth of information relevant to clinical psychiatrists, psychiatric residents, and psychiatric nurses, as well as medical students engaged in a psychiatry rotation. Highlights include: ; A review of fundamental concepts from internal medicine relevant to psychopharmacology across all major organ systems affected by antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, sedative-hypnotics, and other major psychotropic classes; Practical discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of viable antidote strategies for common adverse drug effects, including weight gain, metabolic dysregulation, sexual dysfunction, sleep disorders, skin rashes, movement disorders, and cognitive disturbances. Readers will understand the scientific rationale and evidence base behind available methods to counteract adverse drug effects; An entire section on vulnerable populations, including children, the medically ill, and older adults, including the special considerations in prescribing and intervening when adverse effects arise; Guidance for managing emergency situations, beginning with how to determine whether such a situation - e.g., allergic reaction or overdose - exists. Easy-to-use tables provide critical information needed to respond rapidly and appropriately to emergency situations including overdoses, neurotoxicities, and systemic reactions; A 25-question, multiple-choice self-assessment that employs a combination of case studies and straightforward questions on mechanisms of action, key symptoms, and medication selection, providing the reader with an effective way to measure learning; A series of appendices that distill complex information into readily-comprehensible form on vital topics including commonly reported adverse effects, common psychotropic drug interactions, resources for practitioners, and rating scales for measuring adverse drug effects. Most valuable of all, Managing the Side Effects of Psychotropic Medications provides concise, bottom-line summary recommendations that synthesize all available empirical and anecdotal information on psychotropic medications. Mental health practitioners will appreciate its comprehensiveness and wise counsel.

Table of Contents:
ForewordPrefaceIntroductionList of abbreviationsList of drugsPart I: General ConsiderationsChapter 1. The psychiatrist as physicianChapter 2. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomicsChapter 3. Vulnerable populationsChapter 4. Adverse psychiatric effects of nonpsychotropic medicationsChapter 5. Adverse psychiatric effects of psychiatric medicationsChapter 6. What nonmedical therapists should know about adverse drug effectsPart II: Organ SystemsChapter 7. Cardiovascular systemChapter 8. Dermatological systemChapter 9. Ear, nose and throatChapter 10. Electrolyte abnormalitiesChapter 11. EndocrinopathiesChapter 12. Gastrointestinal systemChapter 13 Genitourinary and renal systemsChapter 14. Hematological systemChapter 15. Musculoskeletal systemChapter 16. Neurological systemChapter 17. Ophthalmological systemChapter 18. Sleep disturbancesChapter 19. Systemic reactionsChapter 20. Pregnancy and the puerperiumChapter 21. Emergency situationsPart III: Summary RecommendationsChapter 22. The futureAppendix 1: Self-assessment questions and answersAppendix 2: Resources for practitionersReferencesIndex

About the Author :
Joseph F. Goldberg, M.D., M.S., is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, New York, and Director of the Affective Disorders Research Program at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut. Carrie L. Ernst, M.D., a consultation-liaison psychiatrist, is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Assistant Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York.

Review :
This volume provides a comprehensive, scholarly, thoughtful coverage of the topic. It includes excellent general chapters that help teach the reader to be a primary care psychiatrist. Numerous useful tables as well as good appendices are included… This is a very valuable, important book that belongs in the office of every practicing psychiatrist. No other book like this is available on the market at present.