UK – NICE releases revised guidelines on antidepressants

The new guidelines focus on key areas of prescription, management of withdrawal and severity of withdrawal symptoms

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released new guidelines outlining the prescription and management of withdrawal from opioids, benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids, Z-drugs and antidepressants in primary and secondary care.

The guidelines share that while antidepressants are not ‘dependence-forming’ drugs, they can still cause withdrawal symptoms. “Antidepressants, although historically not classified as dependence-forming medicines, can nevertheless cause withdrawal symptoms when they are stopped,” the guidelines stated…