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Two acute psychotic episodes after administration of bupropion: a case of involuntary rechallenge

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Abstract

Bupropion is an antidepressant drug also used as a smoking cessation aid, which inhibits norepinephrine and dopamine re-uptake. Given its pharmacological properties, it has been associated with reports on psychosis and acute delirious episodes. Case We report the case of a patient with schizoaffective disorder who developed two psychotic episodes respectively after a four and a two-day administration of sustained-release (SR) bupropion at a dose of 150 mg/day. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of involuntary rechallenge with bupropion SR during a smoking cessation program. Conclusion There is a serious risk of incorrectly identifying bupropion as only a therapy for nicotine withdrawal without taking the precaution of exploring possible psychiatric co-morbidity with addiction. Our case illustrates the problem.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to express their gratitude to the translators, Mr Jean-Yves Bart and Mr Jesse David Tatum, for revising the text.

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All the authors of this article attest that there was no potential conflict of interest that could have influenced this work.

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Correspondence to Hervé Javelot.

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Javelot, H., Baratta, A., Weiner, L. et al. Two acute psychotic episodes after administration of bupropion: a case of involuntary rechallenge. Pharm World Sci 31, 238–240 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-008-9272-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-008-9272-x

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