The slide shows how the ratio of a drugs number needed to treat for manic and for depressive symptoms can be used to create a polarity index, allowing clinicians to visualise the place of various medications along the continuum of bipolar disorder treatment.1,2
References:
1. Popovic D, Reinares M, Goikolea JM, et al. Polarity index of pharmacological agents used for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2012; 22 (5): 339–346.
2. Carvalho AF, Quevedo J, McIntyre RS, et al. Treatment implications of predominant polarity and the polarity index: a comprehensive review. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2014; 18 (2): pyu079.