The main aim of The Guidelines is to provide clinicians with practically useful advice on the deprescribing of psychotropic agents in commonly encountered clinical situations. The advice contained in this handbook is based on a combination of literature review, clinical experience and expert contribution, including from patient experts and advocates. We do not claim that this advice is necessarily 'correct' or that it deserves greater prominence than the guidance provided by other professional bodies or special interest groups. We hope, however, to have provided guidance that helps to assure the safe, effective and economical use of medicines in psychiatry, including when they are no longer required.
We hope also to have made clear precisely the sources of information used to inform the guidance given. Please note that some of the recommendations provided here involve the use of unlicensed formulations of some drugs in order to facilitate tapering. Note also that, while we have endeavoured to make sure all quoted doses are correct, clinicians should always consult statutory texts before prescribing. Users of The Deprescribing Guidelines should also bear in mind that the contents of this handbook are based on information available to us in November 2023. Much of the advice contained here will become out-dated as more research is conducted and published.
No liability is accepted for any injury, loss or damage, however caused.
Notes on inclusion of drugs
The Deprescribing Guidelines originate in the UK but are intended for use in other countries outside the UK. With this in mind, we have included in this edition those drugs in widespread use throughout the Western world in November 2023. These include drugs not marketed in the UK, such as desvenlafaxine, vilazodone, amongst several others. Many older drugs or those not widely available are either only briefly mentioned or not included on the basis that these drugs were not in widespread use at the time of writing. This book was written to have worldwide utility, although it retains a mild emphasis on UK practice and drugs.
Contributors' Conflict of Interest
Most of the contributors to The Deprescribing Guidelines have not received funding from pharmaceutical manufacturers for research, consultancy or lectures, although some have. Readers should be aware that these relationships inevitably colour opinions on such matters as drug selection or preference. However, in the case of a textbook that advises on stopping psychiatric drugs, and that generally recommends not using medications to treat withdrawal from another, such conflicts may be less pertinent than in other circumstances. As regards direct influence, no pharmaceutical company has been allowed to view or comment on any drafts or proofs of The Deprescribing Guidelines, and none has made any request for the inclusion or omission of any topic, advice or guidance. To this extent, The Deprescribing Guidelines have been written independent of the pharmaceutical industry.