P03-84 - Bupropion in treatment of depression - patient stopped smoking: case report

Abstract

AimTo present a case of a patient with depression who stopped smoking during therapy with bupropion.Case reportPatient, 55 years old, diagnosed with depression, was in psychiatric treatment for two year before she discontined her treatment. She decided to discontinue psychiatric treatment and stopped taking antidepressants because she was feeling better and was functioning at work and in her social environment. For the past one year she was taking only lorazepam occasionally. She came again to our hospital when avolition and fatigue intensified, along with depressed mood. She was not able to function at work any more. She smoked about 20 cigarettes daily and tried to stop smoking on several occasions, but unsuccessfully. Because of worsening of symptoms of depression, treatment with bupropion was initiated in daily dosage of 150 mg. After five days of such treatment daily dosage of bupropion was elevated to 300 mg. The patient reported having headache for the first two days of treatment with bupropion, but after the headache stopped. After ten days of treatment she reported feeling better and was smoking less cigarettes (five per day). She said that didn’t have such pleasurable feeling any more when smoking. Also, after smoking she felt mild nausea. At control examination, after one month of treatment with bupropion, the patient reported feeling well, without symptoms of depression and that she stopped smoking. She continued outpatient treatment regularly and was functioning well again at work and in her social environment.