Bipolar II disorder — diagnostic and management lessons for health practitioners from a coronial inquest

A coronial inquest into the suicide of television newsreader Charmaine Dragun identified that a likely contributory factor to her death was the failure of many health practitioners to diagnose a bipolar II disorder and to provide more specific treatment for her condition. Lack of awareness about bipolar II disorder among practitioners and the public, as well as screening and detection problems, may have contributed to the failure to diagnose this disorder over the course of a decade. Detection and management of bipolar II disorder generally differs from that for a unipolar disorder, in that mood stabilisers rather than antidepressants are more often a priority. The diagnosis therefore has distinctive implications for management and course of the illness. The Coroner recommended “increased awareness by health professionals of the need to exclude a bipolar disorder in all patients presenting with signs and symptoms of depression” and highlighted the need for “readily available” screening tools.