Safe and Effective Use of Venlafaxine, Mirtazapine, and Aripiprazole in an Adolescent with Treatment-Resistant Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Managing treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (TR-OCD) is often a challenge for clinicians, especially when adolescents and children are the patients. Approximately one-quarter to one-third of children with OCD do not respond to first-line treatments. Studies on the combination of venlafaxine and mirtazapine in children and adolescents are promising, but there is insufficient information about the use of this combination in TR-OCD. As far as we know, this is the first report of an adolescent patient with TR-OCD who responded favorably to a combination of a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (venlafaxine), an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist (mirtazapine), and an atypical antipsychotic (aripiprazole). This case provides an example of the effective and safe use of the venlafaxine, mirtazapine, and aripiprazole given in combination in an adolescent with TR-OCD.