Terapia farmacologica e suicidio: l’esperienza del Gabapentin e della Quetiapina. Considerazioni medico legali basate su una meta-analisi

Gabapentin and Quietiapina are two drugs belonging to two different pharmaceutical classes thus offering different therapeutic indications. They both share the negative feature of being related to a possible implication in suicidal events. Moreover, the latest off-label use of Gabapentin for the bipolar disorders therapy has allowed the use of both these drugs in the treatment of the same pathology, thus opening the possibility of their combination in treating those patients refractory to single-drug therapy. By doing in this way, there is the possibility of joining their separate side effects. The aim of this study is to assess, through the analysis of the available scientific literature, the tie between the administration of Gabapentin and/or Quietiapina and the risk of conceiving and/or practicing suicidal behaviours so that to recognize a possible action mechanism able to explain such behaviours. In this way researchers intend to estimate the possible use of these drugs as a means to commit suicide. When prescribing Gabapentin or Quietiapina, physicians must be aware of the risks of these drugs so that to accurately inform patients who have to give their conscious assent to the therapy. Moreover, through regular visits, caregivers have to implement an attentive monitoring throughout the whole therapy time in order to spot any signs alerting all possible therapeutic procedures necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of suicidal behaviours in patients. All these considerations appear to be more important in the light of the possibility of a therapy combining these two drugs, which has not yet been specifically studied.