Mania following antidepressant discontinuation in depression: two case reports

Antidepressant-induced mania and an antidepressant discontinuation syndrome are well documented, whereas mania occurring after antidepressant cessation has been infrequently reported.

We describe antidepressant discontinuation-related mania in two Chinese patients, as well as a review of the literature on this phenomenon in unipolar depression.

A 72-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman had late-onset depression with vascular risk factors, but no personal or family history of mood disorders. Manic symptoms started after stopping escitalopram and venlafaxine during depressive relapse, and resolved with the initiation of olanzapine and valproate. In the literature, 29 episodes of antidepressant discontinuation-related mania were reported. Tricyclic antidepressants were most frequently implicated, followed by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. There was spontaneous resolution of manic symptoms in half of the cases.

This is the first report of antidepressant discontinuation-related mania in an Asian population, in the setting of late-onset depression. This phenomenon is rare and is amenable to standard treatment.