common mental disorder
Case # 29- The depressed man who thought he was out of options.
Depression has become a common mental disorder in our elderly population. This has caused a global concern for occur, geriatric patients, as depression often results in a significant burden for families as well as communities. Elderly people who suffer from depression may have an inferior baseline and record for medical assessments than those individuals without depression. Despite consistent evidence of the effectiveness of antidepressants for many with depression,3particularly those with more severe depression, remission rates are disappointingly low. An AHRQ-sponsored report found that only 46% of patients experienced remission from depression during 6 to 12 weeks of treatment with second-generation antidepressants. One major reason for this issue is non-adherence to medications and treatment plans. Studies have shown that patients’ age, race and ethnicity are consistently associated with predictions of outcomes. (Rossom et al., 2016).
This case study involves a 69-year old man whose chief complaint is unremitting, chronic depression. After several years of medications and treatments, he feels hopeless for a recovery from his chronic depression. This assignments seeks to explore his family and social support systems, diagnostic testing, differential diagnosis and pharmacologic treatment options for this patient.
Questions for the client
How have you been sleeping lately?
How many times in the last week have you had feelings of hopelessness?
Are you having thoughts of harming yourself? Do you have a plan?
