Buspirone

Buspirone is an anxiolytic drug. Originally, the drug was developed as an antipsychotic but was found ineffective for psychosis, but it had useful anxiolytic features. Buspirone has recently come into favor, primarily due to its decreased side-effect profile compared to other anxiolytic treatments. Buspirone is primarily used to treat generalized anxiety disorder. It is a United States Food and Drug Administration-approved medicine for managing anxiety disorders or the short-term relief of anxiety symptoms. Off-labeled buspirone is used for the augmentation of unipolar depression. This activity reviews the mechanism of action, adverse event profile, toxicity, dosing, pharmacodynamics, and monitoring of buspirone, pertinent for interprofessional team members for treating patients where buspirone is indicated.