Korean Medication Algorithm for Depressive Disorder: Comparisons with Other Treatment Guidelines

In this review, we compared recommendations from the Korean Medication Algorithm Project for Depressive Disorder 2017 (KMAP DD 2017) to other global treatment guidelines for depression. Six global treatment guidelines were reviewed; among the six, 4 were evidence based guidelines, 1 was an expert consensus based guideline, and 1 was an amalgamation of both evidence and expert consensus based recommendations. The recommendations in the KMAP DD 2017 were generally similar to those in other global treatment guidelines, although there were some differences between the guidelines. The KMAP DD 2017 appeared to reflect current changes in the psychopharmacology of depression quite well, like other recently published evidence based guidelines. As an expert consensus based guideline, the KMAP DD 2017 had some limitations. However, considering there are situations in which clinical evidence cannot be drawn from planned clinical trials, the KMAP DD 2017 may be,helpful for Korean psychiatrists making decisions in the clinical settings by complementing previously published evidence based guidelines.