L. Franchini et al., A DOUBLE-BLIND-STUDY OF LONG-TERM TREATMENT WITH SERTRALINE OR FLUVOXAMINE FOR PREVENTION OF HIGHLY RECURRENT UNIPOLAR DEPRESSION, The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 58(3), 1997, pp. 104-107
Background: We evaluated and compared the efficacy and safety of sertr
aline and fluvoxamine in a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group st
udy during a follow-up of 24 months. Method: Sixty-four patients with
recurrent, unipolar depression (DSM-IV criteria) who had at least one
depressive episode during the 18 months preceding the index episode we
re accepted into the trial. Patients were randomly assigned to one of
the two long-term treatment groups and evaluated monthly by trained ps
ychiatrists, blinded to treatment option, on the basis of the Hamilton
Rating Scale for Depression. Results: All patients completed the 24-m
onth follow-up period. Sertraline and fluvoxamine showed an equal effi
cacy in preventing new recurrences. In fact, there was no significant
difference in survival rates between the two medication groups: 7 sert
raline-treated patients (21.9%) and 6 fluvoxamine-treated patients (18
.7%) had a single new recurrence (z=0.14; p=.88). Moreover, recurrence
observed during maintenance therapies was less severe and/or of short
er duration than index episodes. Conclusion: Long-term treatment with
sertraline or fluvoxamine has been shown to be effective for preventio
n of highly recurrent unipolar depression. The high tolerability of th
ese compounds, together with their prophylactic effectiveness, has an
important role in improving the quality of life of these patients.