Venlafaxine augmentation with agomelatine in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder and suicidal behaviors

Maria S Signorelli; Carmen Concerto; Eliana Battaglia; Maria C Costanzo; Fortunato Battaglia; Eugenio Aguglia

doi:10.1177/2050313X14561778

Venlafaxine augmentation with agomelatine in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder and suicidal behaviors

SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2014 Dec 4:2:2050313X14561778. doi: 10.1177/2050313X14561778. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Maria S Signorelli¹, Carmen Concerto², Eliana Battaglia¹, Maria C Costanzo¹, Fortunato Battaglia³, Eugenio Aguglia¹

Affiliations

¹ Psychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
² Psychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy; Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA.
³ Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA.

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic and disabling condition that often proves to be treatment resistant. Of the patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, 10%-27% may attempt suicide at least once in their life. We report the case of a patient who presented severe obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms and attempted suicide ingesting 25 tablets of fluoxetine (20 mg). The patient was treated with venlafaxine and agomelatine and showed improvement of obsessive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Future studies are needed to investigate this treatment regime in large cohorts of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients with suicidal ideation.

Keywords: Agomelatine; obsessive-compulsive disorder; suicidal ideation; treatment.

Publication types

Case Reports