Treatment Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder (3 CE)

Course overview

This article presents treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder (BD) revised in 2018 by the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). The 2018 CANMAT and ISBD Bipolar Treatment Guidelines provide clinicians with updated principles for the diagnosis and management of BD, along with a comprehensive synthesis of research on treatments. This research evidence is translated into clear recommendations concerning the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of various treatments for BD. First-, second-, and third-line treatments are distinguished for each phase of the disorder, along with a not recommended category of treatments that studies have shown to be ineffective. The 2018 CANMAT and ISBD Bipolar Treatment Guidelines are presented in eight sections. Following the introduction, the second section discusses the foundations of management, including epidemiology, diagnostic assessment, suicide risk, chronic disease management, stigma, and a range of psychosocial interventions. The third through fifth sections focus on acute management of bipolar mania, acute management of bipolar I depression, and maintenance therapy for bipolar I disorder. The sixth section discusses management of bipolar II disorder. The seventh section considers management of BD in specific populations (women at different stages of the reproductive cycle, children and adolescents, older adults, and individuals with comorbidities). The final section addresses safety and monitoring for patients receiving recommended treatments.