Mood Emot.  2024 Mar;22(1):19-26. 10.35986/me.2024.22.1.19.

Efficacy of Naltrexone-Bupropion and PhentermineTopiramate in Psychiatric Patients: A Retrospective Study at a University Outpatient Clinic

• Song MK
• Choi WS
• Woo YS
• Bahk WM

• KMID: 2568076
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.35986/me.2024.22.1.19

Abstract

Background
Phentermine-topiramate (PT) and naltrexone-bupropion (NB) are widely used combination treatments for obesity and overweight. However, no study has yet compared the efficacy and safety of the two drugs in patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders.
Methods
A retrospective chart review of patients who were prescribed with the PT and NB combination treatments was conducted from January 1, 2017, to August 31, 2023. To compare the treatment efficacy, the mean body mass index change rates of both drugs before and after drug use were calculated. The safety of the drug was compared by identifying whether the drug was discontinued early and any side effects that occurred.
Results
A total of 55 patients were enrolled, most of whom were women (89.1%), and the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder was depressive disorder (37.5% for NB and 40.0% for PT). No demographic differences were observed between the patients using the two drugs. The two drugs showed no statistically significant difference in the treatment efficacy. However, in terms of safety, PT had a lower incidence of adverse effects than NB (6.7% vs. 40.0%, p=0.022) Conclusion: No significant difference in the treatment efficacy between PT and NB was observed, but PT showed a more favorable safety profile in psychiatric patients. Further large-scale multicenter studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Keyword

Obesity; Psychiatric patients; Anti-obesity drug; Safety; Efficacy