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Response to an open trial of a second SSRI in major depression
R T Joffe1, A J Levitt, S T Sokolov
1Department of Psychiatric, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
We evaluated the efficacy of a second serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in patients who had failed to respond to the first SSRI used.
Method:
Fifty-five patients with major depression who had failed one of the SSRIs for their current depressive episode were included. After failing a trial of one SSRI, they received a second SSRI in an open clinical trial.
Results:
On the basis of the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale, 28 of 55 patients had a marked or complete antidepressant response.
Conclusion:
These data provide preliminary clinical evidence that substituting a second SRI may be a useful clinical alternative in depressed patients who fail to respond to an adequate trial of an SSRI.