[A qualitative study of clinical change in population of salbutamol-treated hospitalized depressives (author's transl)].

On the basis of pharmacological and clinical findings, salbutamol, a beta-adrenergic stimulant, is used in the treatment of depression. The day by day evolution of each of the most commonly evaluated symptoms in depressed patients is presented as observed during 10 days in 13 patients who were administered this treatment. Improvement appears to be global: it concerns all symptoms. However: - improvement of psychomotor retardation is early and is often observed before mood recovery; - and anxiety seems to variate independently from other factors. Responding patients were those who presented a frank depressive state with no associated psychiatric pathology. Tolerance was satisfactory in all cases.