Depression – BCPP Practice Questions with Answers

Definition: Remission Absence of significant symptomatology for at least 2 months Definition: Chronic Depression Full criteria for a major depressive episode met for a minimum of 2 years Signs and Symptoms of Depression 1. Sleep disturbance (insomnia or hypersomnia) 2. Interest (loss of) 3. Guilt (excessive) 4. Energy (changes in) 5. Concentration (impaired) 6. Appetite changes 7. Psychomotor agitation or retardation 8. Suicidal ideations or actions Definition: Partial Remission Defined as either continued presence of some symptoms but full criteria not met or symptoms no longer present but duration is less than 2 months Definition: Adequate trial of med for MDD 4-8 weeks at an adequate dose If partial response to therapy is is less than 50% improvement after 8 weeks of therapy, what do you do? switching treatment should be strongly considered If response to therapy (50% reduction in symptoms) has occurred after 4 weeks of an adequate trial,... the antidepressant should be continued at an optimal dose and reevaluated at 6, 8, and 12 weeks When is maintenance antidepressant treatment recommended? for patients with chronic depressive symptoms or with a history of 3 or more depressive episodes Definition: Treatment Response 50% reduction in symptoms Definition: Treatment Resistance 1. Episode that has failed to respond to 2 separate trials of different antidepressants of adequate dose and duration 2. After 2 adequate medications trials, the possibility of responding to future trials significantly declines 3. Up to 46% of patients do not experience sufficient antidepressant response