This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ly, K. L. Articles by Hotopf, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ly, K. L. Articles by Hotopf, M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Cancer Cancer--Living with Cancer Palliative Care Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Depression in palliative care: a systematic review. Part 2. Treatment

Jayne Chidgey

Julia Addington-Hall

Department of Palliative Care and Policy, Guy's King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, King's College London, London

Matthew Hotopf

Department of Psychological Medicine, Guy's King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, King's College London, London

Objective: To summarize available literature containing data on the treatment of depression in palliative care patients.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted using extensive electronic databases and hand searches. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions for depression in patients with advanced disease were eligible.

Results: Three RCTs assessed pharmacological treatments. Of these, two were placebo controlled and assessed mianserin and thioridazine. The third compared two antidepressants. There were no RCTs that specifically assessed psychotherapy for patients with depression.

Conclusion: There are too few adequate studies to draw clear conclusions about management of depression in this setting. The treatment of depression in patients with advanced disease must, for now, be informed by the larger body of evidence on effective treatments for depression in patients with either no physical illness or less severe medical conditions.

Key Words: advanced cancer • depression • depressive disorder • intervention • palliative care • treatment

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 16, No. 4, 279-284 (2002)
DOI: 10.1191/0269216302pm570oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Reeve, M Lloyd-Williams, and C Dowrick Revisiting depression in palliative care settings: the need to focus on clinical utility over validity Palliative Medicine, June 1, 2008; 22(4): 383 - 391. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Mystakidou, E. Parpa, E. Tsilika, M. Pathiaki, I. Hatzipli, A. Galanos, and L. Vlahos The Experience of Hopelessness in a Population of Greek Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care International Journal of Social Psychiatry, May 1, 2008; 54(3): 262 - 271. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. RUDDY and A. HOUSE Meta-review of high-quality systematic reviews of interventions in key areas of liaison psychiatry The British Journal of Psychiatry, August 1, 2005; 187(2): 109 - 120. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A Robinson and G. B Crawford Identifying palliative care patients with symptoms of depression: an algorithm Palliative Medicine, June 1, 2005; 19(4): 278 - 287. [Abstract] [PDF]