Article: Dean - Many Stroke Patients Treated for Depression Without Diagnosis

Dean's Stroke Musing

But is that a bad thing? See 1. Poststroke Depression (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin), for the positive effects of antidepressants  in helping stroke recovery. They may inadvertently be helping recovery and depression without knowing about it.

Rant On - Seems to be the common theme in stroke rehab, we don't know if this helps but try it anyway. Evidence based therapy could be helpful but then we may not get any therapy at all since there is not a defined way to bring back dead brain functions. Oh joy to the insurance companies, No EBM, no therapy, more profits. We're screwed. Be careful what you wish for. Rant Off.

According to new Canadian research, many stroke patients are being prescribed antidepressants without a proper diagnosis, suggesting that some patients are being over-treated while others are getting overlooked.

“A lot of people are being treated for depression, but we don’t know if they’re the right ones,” said lead researcher Katherine Salter of Parkwood Hospital in London, Ontario.  

“This study found that 40 percent of stroke patients were treated for depression, but most were not screened or diagnosed. Who are we treating?”

Depression is the most common mental health condition after a stroke, affecting more than a one-fourth of all stroke patients. Depression may get in the way of a patient’s ability to participate in post-stroke therapy and is linked to slower rehabilitation and a longer stay in the hospital.

For the study, researchers looked at the medical charts of 294 patients discharged from five in-patient rehabilitation programs over a six-month period. Only three of 294 patients given an antidepressant were formally screened, assessed and diagnosed with depression first .....

See the full article Many Stroke Patients Treated for Depression Without Diagnosis 
                          in Dean's Stroke Musing.