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BMJ Case Reports 2008; doi:10.1136/bcr.08.2008.0841
  • Reminder of important clinical lesson

Treatment of depression as part of end-of-life care

  1. Breffni Hannon1,
  2. Peter Fitzgerald2,
  3. Marie Murphy3
  1. 1
    Marymount Hospice, Cork, Ireland
  2. 2
    Cork University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Wilton, Cork, Ireland
  3. 3
    Marymount Hospice, Department of Palliative Medicine, St Patrick’s Hospital, Cork, Ireland
  1. breffnilhannon{at}yahoo.co.uk
  • Published 20 November 2008

Summary

We present a case report of a severe treatment resistant major depressive episode in a patient with advanced cancer and limited life expectancy which resolved completely within 10 days of commencing combination therapy involving mirtazepine and paroxetine. Aggressive treatment of clinical depression even in the context of short life expectancy (that is, a short number of weeks) can dramatically reduce patient and family distress and improve quality of life.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: none.

  • Patient consent: Patient/guardian consent was obtained for publication

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