Initial Treatment: The initial dose is 15 or 30 mg, taken preferably in the evening. The maintenance dose is usually between 15 mg and 45 mg per day.
Mirtazapine has an elimination half-life of approximately 20-40 hours; therefore, dose changes should not be made at intervals of less than one to two weeks in order to allow sufficient time for evaluation of the therapeutic response to a given dose.
Elderly and Patients with Renal or Hepatic Impairment: The clearance of mirtazapine is reduced in elderly patients and in patients with moderate to severe renal or hepatic impairment. Consequently, the prescriber should be aware that plasma mirtazapine levels may be increased in these patient groups, compared to levels observed in younger adults without renal or hepatic impairment.
Maintenance/Extended Treatment: It is generally agreed that acute episodes of depression require several months or longer of sustained pharmacological therapy beyond response to the acute episode. Systematic evaluation of mirtazapine tablets has demonstrated that its efficacy in major depressive disorder is maintained for periods of up to 40 weeks following 8-12 weeks of initial treatment at a dose of 15-45 mg/day. Based on these limited data, it is unknown whether or not the dose of mirtazapine needed for maintenance treatment is identical to the dose needed to achieve an initial response. Patients should be periodically reassessed to determine the need for maintenance treatment and the appropriate dose for such treatment.
Switching Patients To or From a Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor: At least 14 days should elapse between discontinuation of an MAOI and initiation of therapy with mirtazapine tablets. In addition, at least 14 days should be allowed after stopping mirtazapine before starting an MAOI.
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