Use of psychotropics in the world

A questionnaire regarding medication preferences for major categories of psychiatric disorders was sent to 1,059 psychiatric drug investigators in 53 countries. 264 questionnaires were returned, of which 165 were appropriate for this survey. A total of 87 different psychotropic drugs were selected. Chlorpromazine was the medication most frequently cited in the treatment of schizophrenia. Amitriptyline and imipramine together accounted for the vast majority of medication chosen for all varieties of depression. In the treatment of mania, chlorpromazine was chosen by almost one-third of our sample, lithium by only one-fifth. Chlordiazepoxide and diazepam were equally preferred in the treatment of alcoholism. Most psychiatrists preferred not to use any psychotropic medications consistently in treating patients with organic brain syndromes. The implications of this study are discussed and compared uith similar studies in more limited geographical regions and in children.