[The treatment of chronic low back pain with psychotropic drugs (author's transl)].

The results are reported of many years' experience in the treatment of severe chronic painful conditions, including low back pain, with psychotropic drugs. Out of 103 inpatients with severe chronic painful states, 82 showed considerable improvement after treatment with a combination of antidepressants and neuroleptics. There were also 9 patients with chronic back pains, 8 of whom recorded a good effect. The treatment of chronic painful conditions with psychotropics, especially with a combination of antidepressants and neuroleptics, offers, among other things, the advantages of analgesic potentiation, analgesic saving and the avoidance of misuse or dependence on analgesics. A concrete plan of treatment with chlorimipramine and haloperidol for outpatients and inpatients in presented.