[Specific serotonin uptake inhibitors in patients referred to a psychiatrist]

During a twelve month period (1995), 261 patients were referred to a psychiatrist (the author) by their general practitioners. Forty-eight patients (18%) were being treated with antidepressive medicine when first seen. Only seven patients were being treated with the traditional tricyclic antidepressive medicine, while 39 received specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and two patients received other kinds of antidepressants. The SSRIs seem to be prescribed to a wide range of patients providing an unclear clinical picture, and it is assumed that the patients' desire to try the famous and popular pills is crucial when the therapeutic decision is made. The weakening of the ontological stase of endogenous depression should also not be underestimated.