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Forty-five depressed elderly patients were closely monitored in a research setting during treatment with nortriptyline and interpersonal psychotherapy for 7 consecutive months of acute and continuation treatment. Overall, nortriptyline was efficacious and well tolerated in this group. The frequency of somatic complaints measured by the Rating Scale for Side Effects declined by 50% during the acute phase of treatment, suggesting that many somatic complaints that may be attributed to side effects of nortriptyline are actually somatic symptoms of depression. The authors discuss the implications of these findings and offer practical advice for the treating clinician. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol1991;4:226-230).

Ninety-nine intravascular catheters were evaluated by a semiquantitative culture and Gram and acridine orange direct stains. A diagnosis of catheter-related infection was determined by a retrospective review of clinical records. Compared with the culture method, direct examination of catheters lacked sensitivity. Surprisingly, for some patients, a positive stain for yeasts not recovered by culture was considered significant. The culture correlated with bacteremia but failed to predict infection in 42% of patients.