THE SAFETY OF CONCOMITANT USE OF SUMATRIPTAN AND ANTIDEPRESSANT TREATMENTS

It is presently contraindicated to use the antimigraine drug sumatriptan with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, or lithium. Consequently, many patients undergoing these pharmacotherapies for psychiatric disorders may not benefit from the therapeutic effect of sumatriptan in acute migraine attacks. Because sumatriptan does not appear to cross the blood-brain barrier and has a short half-life, it was deemed relatively safe to prescribe sumatriptan with antidepressant treatments. Fourteen patients receiving fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline, moclobemide, lithium, or buspirone did not experience significant side effects when they took oral sumatriptan for the relief of migraine on a total of 103 episodes. It is concluded that the combined use of sumatriptan with the above-mentioned antidepressant treatments may be safe.