Prescribing practices in the treatment of depression among psychiatrists in Oman.

Objectives: To examine the prescribing patterns of antidepressants among a sample of psychiatrists working in Oman and to compare these practices to the current evidence for prescribing specific antidepressant in particular clinical situations.

Methods: This retrospective cross sectional study. Massachusetts General Hospital Psychopharmacology Questionnaire, a 10-item questionnaire listing factors that might have influenced the choice of antidepressant medication, was sent to 83 psychiatrists working in governmental health sectors in Oman. The study was done from March to July 2019.

Results: A total number of 78 psychiatrists responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 44 of the psychiatrists (56.4%) believed that one type of antidepressant is more efficacious than others, while 74 psychiatrists (94.9%) indicated that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were their first-line treatment preference. Mirtazapine was chosen as the most likely antidepressant to cause weight gain by two-thirds of the participants. For the treatment of anxious depression and depression with melancholic feature, SSRIs were the first choice of treatment for 64.1% and 7% of respondents, respectively. For depression with atypical features, 42.3% indicated that a monoamine oxidase inhibitor would be their first option.

Conclusion: There is a discrepancy between the current antidepressant prescribing practices in Oman and empirical antidepressant-prescribing evidence, and this finding is consistent with previous studies.