The pattern of pharmacological treatment of bipolar patients discharged from psychiatric units in Poland.

Background: The concomitant use of two or more mood stabilisers (MS), second-generation antipsychotics (SGA), lamotrigine as well as antidepressants, is frequently reported in the treatment of bipolar patients The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of pharmacological treatment with special regard to polypharmacy defined as two or more psychiatric drugs taken at the same time in the same patients with bipolar disorder discharged from psychiatric units in Poland.

Method: Pharmacotherapy of 127 consecutive patients (57 females and 70 males) with an ICD-10 diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BP) at the point of discharge from five psychiatric regional hospitals/units in Poland, was evaluated in 2015/2016 on the basis of medical files. The effect of treatment on mental status at discharge was examined using the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale (CGI-I).