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 Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Baldassano, C. F. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Management of Bipolar Disorder in the Acute and Maintenance Settings

Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA., cfb{at}mail.med.upenn.edu

Bipolar disorder is a devastating condition that affects approximately 3% of the population. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder is often confounded by the lack of insight patients have into their manic episodes; the end result is that many patients are not diagnosed until years after their first episode and receive no treatment or inappropriate treatment in the interim. Once the diagnosis is made, medication must be chosen that can control symptoms in the short term and prevent relapse in the long term. Medication tolerability affects treatment adherence and thus determines whether a medication will be effective, especially in the long-term maintenance phase of treatment. Thus, medication tolerability has important implications for the management of bipolar disorder because of the chronic nature of the disease and the need for long-term therapy. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2007; 13(S5), S16-S22. DOI: 10.1177/1078390307305790

Key Words: bipolar disorder • manic depression • bipolar depression • diagnosis • treatment challenges

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