INTRODUCTION: Poststroke depression (PSD) is one of the most frequent psychiatric sequelae in populations affected by stroke. Effective drug therapy is essential in the proper management of patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to conduct a review of the literature on pharmacological therapy in PSD. METHOD: A review was made in databases MedLine and SciELO using as primary descriptors "stroke", "depression" and "treatment", including articles published between 1996 to 2006. RESULTS: Thirteen articles were selected. Ten trials were found that described effective pharmacological therapies in the treatment of the PSD. CONCLUSION: The pharmacological management of PSD can be done prophylactic or therapeutically. In both methods, selective reuptake inhibitors, particularly fluoxetine, and in some instances, citalopram and reboxetine, seem to be the most appropriate medications to be used in PSD. Alternatively, nortriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, may be employed in some cases of PSD.
Depression; stroke; treatment
