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 .
An Evaluation of Monitoring Practices in Patients on Second Generation Antipsychotics
Objective : Treatment with second generation antipsychotics ( SGAs ) can increase the risk of patients with schizophrenia developing obesity , hyperlipidaemia and diabetes . Routine monitoring is recommended , but clinical practice suggests monitoring is not conducted at a rate necessary for these comorbidities . The aim was to audit what proportion of patients were having their weight , height , girth , body mass index , lipids and blood sugar levels monitored and recorded . Method : An audit of patients with schizophrenia , discharged from three psychiatric wards , was conducted . Two data sheets were recorded for every patient and inter-rater reliability was calculated . Data were then entered into SPSS and statistical significance calculated . Results : The sample consisted of 93 patients ; SGAs were taken by 31 % of admitted and 88 % of discharged patients . Of these , 65 % had their weight recorded , 61 % height , 31 % r and om blood sugar levels , 3 % postpr and ial blood sugar levels , 2 % glycosylated haemoglobin , and 7.5 % cholesterol and triglycerides . Girth and BMI were not recorded . Abnormalities were detected in 29 % of recorded BSL and 2 % of recorded cholesterol . Conclusions : Patients with schizophrenia on antipsychotics  have an alarmingly low rate of monitoring of these common adverse effects and comorbidities . Clinicians need to be aware of this , so that they can improve their practice
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 .