Management of poisoning associated with “newer” antidepressant agents

Abstract

Overdose of tricyclic antidepressants remains one of the most difficult poisonings to manage optimally in the emergency department, primarily due to the extremely rapid onset of life-threatening symptomatology. The continued high incidence of such overdoses has ensured that morbidity and mortality rates also remain unacceptably high. The development of the "second-generation antidepressants," with apparently different pharmacology and toxicity after overdose, has been an attempt to address this serious medical problem. This report reviews the published literature on the overdose toxicology of the newer cyclic antidepressants currently available in the United States--amoxapine, maprotiline, and trazodone. Nomifensine, released by the FDA in 1984, recently has been voluntarily withdrawn from the world market. Bupropion, released in 1985, also has been voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer three months after its release.