A stepwise drug treatment algorithm to obtain complete remission in depression: a Geneva study

Swiss Medical Weekly
G BondolfiG Bertschy

Abstract

We describe the proportion of severely depressed outpatients reaching complete remission at the different stages of a drug treatment algorithm. We compare several treatment options for SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) non-responders and test the feasibility of the algorithm in clinical conditions. Patients with severe depressive disorders (ICD-10; MADRS > or = 25) admitted to an academic outpatient clinic were enrolled in this algorithm-guided sequential treatment protocol (starting with an SSRI and ending with a tricyclic, lithium, triodothyronine combination). The general principle of the algorithm was to boost the drug therapy in the event of non-response. 135 patients entered the study and 131 were eligible for analysis. From this group, 86 patients dropped out (65.6%), 40 reached complete remission (30.5%) and 5 patients did not reach remission at all (3.8%). In the 117 patients to whom a last observation carried forward approach was applied, the median improvement of the MADRS score was 48.0% (range -20.7%-100%), with 48.7% of patients considered responders, 23.1% partial responders and 28.2% non-responders. Median retention time was 8 weeks (range 2-34). This algorithm-guided antidepressant treatment was acc...Continue Reading

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