Evidence map›Paper›PMID 10818650›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners1999

Antidepressants and the serotonin syndrome in general practice.

F J Mackay, N R Dunn, R D Mann

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

47 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 172 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Serotonin syndrome controversies: A need for consensus.World journal of critical care medicine · 2024
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Cyproheptadine in serotonin syndrome: A retrospective study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024
    Article
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  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
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  15. Article
  16. The Serotonin Syndrome: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Practice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

F J Mackay
N R Dunn
R D Mann

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAs a consequence of the greater use of agents affecting the serotonergic system, a syndrome of serotonin hyperstimulation has been recognized more frequently. The serotonin syndrome is characterized by a constellation of symptoms that include mental status changes, agitation, myoclonus, hyperreflexia, sweating, shivering, tremor, diarrhoea, lack of coordination, and fever. Deaths have been reported.

aimTo identify cases of the serotonin syndrome among patients prescribed a new antidepressant in general practice, and to determine doctors' awareness of the syndrome.

methodPatients who were dispensed nefazodone in England between 1996 and 1997 were identified using dispensed prescription data. Prescribing doctors were sent questionnaires as part of a post-marketing surveillance study. Patients reported to have experienced two or more features of the serotonin syndrome were identified, and specific questionnaires were sent to their general practitioners.

resultsThere was a 96.2% return rate of serotonin syndrome questionnaires. Nineteen cases met criteria for the syndrome (incidence = 0.4 cases per 1000 patient-months of treatment with nefazodone). Eight patients developed symptoms while taking nefazodone alone. Serotonergic symptoms were reported to a similar degree with five other antidepressants studied by the same method. In total, 85.4% of responding general practitioners were unaware of the serotonin syndrome.

conclusionImproved awareness of the syndrome is needed within general practice. There is a need to distinguish the relatively minor serotonergic symptoms from those of a severe, life-threatening serotonin syndrome.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAntidepressive Agents, Second-GenerationDepressive DisorderFamily PracticeFemaleHumansMaleMedical RecordsMiddle AgedPiperazinesSerotonin SyndromeTriazolesAntidepressive Agents, Second-GenerationnefazodonePiperazinesTriazoles

Identifiers

PMID10818650
PMCPMC1313555
OpenAlexW1909234973

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.