An audit to compare patient factors (age, sex, social background & associated physical diagnoses) in people with refractory depression in a Bedfordshire Community Mental Health Team (BCMHT) being augmented with (A) mirtazepine, (B) atypical antipsychotics or (C) both.

In recent years, there has been particular interest in the use of augmentation as a strategy for the treatment of refractory depression. The purpose of this audit was to define patient factors among people receiving augmentation therapy with either mirtazepine or atypical antipsychotics. We searched an anonymised database of patients and identified those with receiving augmentation with mirtazepine (group A), atypical antipsychotics (group B) or both (group C). The audit reveals some interesting differences in patient factors between the three groups. Knowledge about such differences is useful in practical terms because it allows doctors in the BCMHT to target therapy for different patients towards their specific needs. However, the audit cannot explain the underlying reasons for these differences.