We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .
Oxcarbazepine versus Divalproex Sodium for the Continuing Treatment of Mania
Background and objective Oxcarbazepine , an antiepileptic and a derivative of carbamazepine , has been shown to have clinical utility as an antimanic agent . This study sought to assess the efficacy and tolerability of oxcarbazepine compared with divalproex sodium in the treatment of patients with mania . Patients and methods 57 patients from a large clinical practice who had recently begun treatment with divalproex sodium  were r and omly assigned to one of two treatment groups . In this open-label , single (rater)-blind study , group 1 remained on treatment with divalproex sodium and group 2 was switched to oxcarbazepine . Both treatment groups were followed for 10 weeks after the switch . Pharmacotherapeutic efficacy was compared using the Clinician Administered Rating Scale for Mania ( CARS-M ) . Weight and adverse events were monitored throughout the study . Results 83 % of patients using oxcarbazepine showed a decrease in mania as assessed using the CARS-M , and 70 % showed a net decrease in weight over the 10-week course of the study . For the divalproex sodium group , 53 % showed a decrease in mania , as assessed by CARS-M , and 37 % lost weight . Conclusion Oxcarbazepine showed comparable efficacy to divalproex sodium , yet appeared to do so with an equal or more benign side-effect profile , particularly with regard to weight . These results suggest that oxcarbazepine , which has been used in Europe for the treatment of mood disorders for some time ( albeit used off-label for this purpose ) may show promise for use in the US as an agent for maintenance of non-acute mania
We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .