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Published Online: 16 January 2024

Postpartum Psychosis: A Proposed Treatment Algorithm

Chaitra Jairaj [email protected], Gertrude Seneviratne, Veerle Bergink, Iris E. Sommer, and Paola DazzanAuthors Info & Affiliations
Publication: FOCUS
Volume 22, Number 1
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.23021033
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Abstract

Background:

Postpartum psychosis (PPP) is a psychiatric emergency that generally warrants acute inpatient care. PPP is marked by the sudden onset of affective and psychotic symptoms with a rapid deterioration in mental state. Evidence suggests that PPP is a discrete disorder on the bipolar disorder spectrum with a distinct treatment profile and prognosis.

Methods:

We conducted a PubMed database search for various terms involving PPP and its treatment and included peer-reviewed articles published in English.

Objective:

To provide a treatment algorithm for the management of PPP based on available evidence.

Results:

Pharmacological therapy is the mainstay of PPP management in the acute phase. Evidence points to a combination of antipsychotics and lithium in the acute treatment of PPP. Electroconvulsive therapy can offer a rapid treatment response where required. Lithium appears to have the best evidence for relapse prevention and prophylaxis in PPP. Psychoeducation is essential and psychosocial interventions used in bipolar disorder may be effective in PPP.

Conclusion:

Early detection and prompt treatment with antipsychotics and lithium, followed by maintenance treatment with lithium, is associated with a favourable prognosis in PPP.
Reprinted from J Psychopharmacol 2023; 37:960–970, with permission from Sage Journals. Copyright © 2023

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Focus
Go to Focus
FOCUS
Volume 22 • Number 1 • Winter 2024
Pages: 131 - 142

History

Published in print: Winter 2024
Published online: 16 January 2024

Keywords

  1. Postpartum psychosis
  2. prophylaxis
  3. treatment

Authors

Affiliations

Chaitra Jairaj [email protected]
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK (Jairaj, Seneviratne); Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK (Seneviratne); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, The Netherlands (Sommer); Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan).
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Gertrude Seneviratne
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK (Jairaj, Seneviratne); Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK (Seneviratne); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, The Netherlands (Sommer); Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan).
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Veerle Bergink
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK (Jairaj, Seneviratne); Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK (Seneviratne); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, The Netherlands (Sommer); Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan).
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Iris E. Sommer
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK (Jairaj, Seneviratne); Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK (Seneviratne); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, The Netherlands (Sommer); Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan).
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Paola Dazzan
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK (Jairaj, Seneviratne); Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (Jairaj); Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK (Seneviratne); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Bergink); Department of Psychiatry, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, The Netherlands (Sommer); Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, UK (Dazzan).
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Notes

Corresponding author: Chaitra Jairaj, Email: ([email protected])

Competing Interests

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: P Dazzan’s research in postpartum psychosis has been supported by the Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation, the Psychiatry Research Trust and the Medical Research Foundation. P Dazzan has received speaker’s fees from Lundbeck and Janssen. C Jairaj, G Seneviratne, V Bergink, I Sommer do not report any conflicts of interest.

Funding Information

Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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