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Bipolar disorder in adults

Última revisión: 1 Dec 2025
Última actualización: 27 Sep 2024

Resumen

Definición

Anamnesis y examen

Principales factores de diagnóstico

  • major depressive episode(s)
  • episode(s) of mania
  • episode(s) of hypomania
  • inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
  • decreased need for sleep
  • more talkative than usual, or feels pressure to keep talking
  • flight of ideas, or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
  • distractibility
  • increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation
  • excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for adverse consequences
  • functional impairment
  • no substance misuse
  • no underlying medical cause
  • not due to somatic antidepressant treatment or other prescribed medication
Todos los datos

Factores de riesgo

  • family history of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia
  • onset of mood disorder prior to age 20 years
  • adverse life events
  • childhood trauma and/or adversity
  • previous history of depression
  • lifetime history of a substance use disorder
  • presence of an anxiety disorder
  • obesity
  • cardiovascular disease
Todos los datos

Pruebas diagnósticas

Primeras pruebas diagnósticas para solicitar

  • Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD)
  • Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
  • Rapid Mood Screener (RMS)
  • Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
  • Bipolarity Index
  • Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS)
  • CBC
  • thyroid function tests
  • serum vitamin D
  • toxicology screen
Todos los datos

Pruebas diagnósticas que deben considerarse

  • fasting lipid profile
  • fasting glucose
  • MRI brain
  • actigraphy
Todos los datos

Algoritmo de tratamiento

Agudo

not rapid cycling and without mixed features (with acute mania or hypomania): nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and without mixed features (with acute bipolar I depression): nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and without mixed features (with acute bipolar II depression): nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and with mixed features (with acute mania or hypomania predominant): nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and with mixed features (with acute depression predominant): nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and with mixed features (with equally prominent concurrent manic and depressive symptoms): nonpregnant

rapid cycling: nonpregnant

pregnant

En curso

bipolar I after stabilization of acute episode (including rapid cycling but without mixed features): nonpregnant

bipolar II after stabilization of acute episode (including rapid cycling but without mixed features): nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and with mixed features (with mania or hypomania predominant) after stabilization of acute episode: nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and with mixed features (with depression predominant) after stabilization of acute episode: nonpregnant

not rapid cycling and with mixed features (with equally prominent concurrent manic and depressive symptoms) after stabilization of acute episode: nonpregnant

after stabilization of acute episode: pregnant

Colaboradores

Autores

Adrian Preda, MD

Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

University of California, Irvine

Irvine

CA

Divulgaciones

AP has been compensated as an expert consultant by GLG, Atheneum, Guidepoint, and as the Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News.

Agradecimientos

Dr Adrian Preda would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Sudhakar Selvaraj, Dr Prashant Gajwani, and Dr David J. Muzina, previous contributors to this topic.

Divulgaciones

SS has received speaking honoraria from Global Medical Education and honoraria from the British Medical Journal Publishing Group; owns convertible shares at Flow MedTech, Inc (a medical device start-up company); and has been involved in a treatment-resistant depression clinical trial and received research support from COMPASS pathways (a mental healthcare company). PG has served on the speakers' bureau for Merck and Sunovion. DJM is an author of a number of references cited in this topic; has previously received honoraria for research support from Repligen Co; has previously received honoraria as a speaker and/or advisor from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BMS, Wyeth, Sepracor, and GSK; and is a full-time employee of Medco.

Revisores por pares

Stuart Watson, MD, MRCPsych, MBBS

Clinical Senior Lecturer

Newcastle University

Newcastle

UK

Divulgaciones

SW declares that he has no competing interests.

Roger McIntyre, MD

Head

Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit

University Health Network

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology

University of Toronto

Ontario

Canada

Divulgaciones

RM has received research funds from Stanley Medical Research Institute and National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). RM is on the advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, France Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline Janssen-Ortho, Solvay/Wyeth, Eli Lilly, Organon, Lundbeck, Biovail, Pfizer, Shire, and Schering-Plough. RM is on the speakers' bureau for Janssen-Ortho, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck, Biovail, and Wyeth. RM has received research grants from Eli Lilly, Janssen-Ortho, and Shire.

Jan Scott, MBBS

Professor of Psychological Medicine

University of Newcastle

Honorary Professor

Psychological Treatments Research

Institute of Psychiatry

London

University Department of Psychiatry

Royal Victoria Infirmary

Newcastle upon Tyne

UK

Divulgaciones

JS has received remuneration for attending advisory boards for AstraZeneca, BSM-Otsuka, Eli Lilly, GSK, and Sanofi-Aventis.

Agradecimiento de los revisores por pares

Los temas de BMJ Best Practice se actualizan de forma continua de acuerdo con los desarrollos en la evidencia y en las guías. Los revisores por pares listados aquí han revisado el contenido al menos una vez durante la historia del tema.

Divulgaciones

Las afiliaciones y divulgaciones de los revisores por pares se refieren al momento de la revisión.

Referencias

Nuestros equipos internos de evidencia y editoriales colaboran con colaboradores expertos internacionales y revisores pares para garantizar que brindemos acceso a la información más clínicamente relevante posible.

Artículos principales

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed, text revision (DSM-5-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2022.Texto completo

Yatham LN, Chakrabarty T, Bond DJ, et al. Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) and International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) recommendations for the management of patients with bipolar disorder with mixed presentations. Bipolar Disord. 2021 Dec;23(8):767-88. Resumen

Yatham LN, Kennedy SH, Parikh SV, et al. Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) and International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) 2018 guidelines for the management of patients with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord. 2018 Mar;20(2):97-170.Texto completo  Resumen

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Bipolar disorder: assessment and management. Dec 2023 [internet publication].Texto completo

Goodwin GM, Haddad PM, Ferrier IN, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for treating bipolar disorder: revised third edition recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology. J Psychopharmacol. 2016 Jun;30(6):495-553.Texto completo  Resumen

Fountoulakis KN, Grunze H, Vieta E, et al. The International College of Neuro-Psychopharmacology (CINP) treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder in adults (CINP-BD-2017), Part 3: the clinical guidelines. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2017 Feb 1;20(2):180-95.Texto completo  Resumen

Artículos de referencia

Una lista completa de las fuentes a las que se hace referencia en este tema está disponible para los usuarios con acceso a todo BMJ Best Practice.
  • Diferenciales

    • Mood disorder due to general medical condition
    • Substance-induced mood disorder
    • Major depressive disorder
    Más Diferenciales
  • Guías de práctica clínica

    • Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
    • Bipolar disorder: assessment and management
    Más Guías de práctica clínica
  • Folletos para el paciente

    Bipolar disorder: what is it?

    Bipolar disorder: what medications work?

    Más Folletos para el paciente
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