Section - Quick Takes

04. Mortality Risk Among Patients With COVID-19 Prescribed Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Antidepressants

Published on March 1, 2022 Expired on April 1, 2024

James Phelps, M.D.

Research Editor - Psychopharmacology Institute

Key Points

Among people infected with the COVID-19 virus, mortality rates are lower among those taking any SRI and substantially lower among people taking fluvoxamine or fluoxetine.

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You have likely heard of some early findings suggesting that serotonergic antidepressants like fluvoxamine might lower the risk of hospitalization and death in patients with COVID-19 infection. The early data were from population studies comparing these dire outcomes in patients who were taking fluvoxamine for psychiatric reasons vs patients who were not. A subsequent investigation looked not just at fluvoxamine but all SSRIs and found the same moderate effect for the SSRIs, only most pronounced for fluvoxamine and fluoxetine.

Hi! Jim Phelps here for the Psychopharmacology Institute. Perhaps for once, we’re seeing here a small reason why having obsessive-compulsive disorder might be a good thing. But the bigger question is—might SRIs be beneficial enough in COVID-19 infection that nonpsychiatrists should consider starting them just to lower the risk of hospitalization and death? In the last 3 months as of this writing, 2 major papers have come out to address that

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05. Effect of Early Treatment With Fluvoxamine on Risk of Emergency Care and Hospitalization Among Patients With COVID-19: The TOGETHER Randomized Platform Clinical Trial

Learning Objectives:

After completing this activity, the learner will be able to:

Examine the items of the Young Mania Rating Scale for their ability to discriminate between unipolar and bipolar depression among hospitalized youth.
Review the literature on the treatment of co-occurring anxiety and sleep problems in children and adolescents.
Compare suicide rates among patients randomized to lithium or placebo among veterans with a prior suicide attempt.
Use the concepts of absolute and relative risk to understand the outcomes of a cohort study looking at mortality rates in COVID-19 infection among people taking SSRIs vs matched controls.
Assess the efficacy of fluvoxamine for the prevention of illness progression in patients with recently diagnosed COVID-19 infection.

Original Release Date: March 1, 2022

Review Date: March 1, 2024

Expiration Date: April 1, 2024

Relevant Financial Disclosures:

None of the faculty, planners, and reviewers for this educational activity have relevant financial relationships to disclose during the last 24 months with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

Contact Information: For questions regarding the content or access to this activity, contact us at support@psychopharmacologyinstitute.com

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Participants must complete the activity online during the valid credit period that is noted above.

Follow these steps to earn CME credit:

View the required educational content provided on this course page.
Complete the Post Activity Evaluation for providing the necessary feedback for continuing accreditation purposes and for the development of future activities. NOTE: Completing the Post Activity Evaluation after the quiz is required to receive the earned credit.
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