The use of d-amphetamine in medically ill depressed patients

A positive therapeutic response to d-amphetamine is described in three medically ill depressed patients in a general hospital. Two patients were either unable to tolerate or responded poorly to tricyclic antidepressants. In one patient, d-amphetamine was chosen because of the combination of postoperative pain and depression. There was a rapid remission of depressive symptomatology with no adverse side effects, consistent with the findings of other investigators. Further evaluation of the therapeutic role of d-amphetamine in the treatment of medically ill depressed patients is recommended.