Use of Psychotropic Drugs in Respiratory Disease

Abstract

Background: Psychiatric is common in patients  with  respiratory disease, with  depressive  and  anxiety  disorders  being  the  most frequent in this patient population. However, these  tend  to  be  under-diagnosed, possibly due to the overlap between the somatic manifestations of psychiatric illness and physical symptoms  of  severe  respiratory distress. The occurrence of psychiatric disorders in patients with respiratory disease has a negative impact on several health indicators (illness control, poor  adherence  to  treatment,  functional impairment, increased  use  of  health  care services, delays in  assessment  or treatment and increased health related costs). The treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with respiratory disease may contribute to better quality of life and may help relieve some respiratory symptomatology.

Aims:  In  this  article  we  review  the  major classes  of  psychotropic drugs  that  may  be useful for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms in patients with concomitant respirato-ry disease as well as the most common side effects in this patient population.

Methods: The articles selected for this review were identified through a systematic search of the literature in English, using the Medline database, from January 1970 to May 2013, combining the keywords: psychotropics, an-tidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidementia agents, respiratory illness/disease and lung disease (twenty-seven reviews, six original researches, six clinical trials, four randomized controlled trials, one short-report, one comparative study, and one editorial). Four textbooks on this subject, published  between  January  1970 and May 2013 were also consulted.

Results and Conclusions: Psychiatric co-morbidity  in  patients  with respiratory  disease is common and can have major impact on morbidity and mortality. It is, therefore, essential  to  know  how  to  adequately treat psychiatric symptoms in these patients.