M. Vanmoffaert et al., A CONTROLLED COMPARISON OF SERTRALINE AND FLUOXETINE IN ACUTE AND CONTINUATION TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSION, Human psychopharmacology, 10(5), 1995, pp. 393-405
In a double-blind multicentre trial in patients with major depression,
the efficacy and the tolerability of sertraline were compared with th
ose of fluoxetine, during an eight-week acute treatment phase followed
by a 24-week continuation treatment phase in treatment responders. A
total of 165 patients who met DSM III-R criteria for moderate to sever
e major depression were randomized to receive either sertraline or flu
oxetine for short-term and continuation treatment with initial daily d
osages of either 50 mg of sertraline or 20 mg of fluoxetine. In the ev
ent of an inadequate response after 4 weeks of double-blind therapy th
ese doses could be doubled. Both treatment groups demonstrated similar
improvements on both the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D)
and the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), during
the acute phase as well as during the continuation phase. Both sertra
line and fluoxetine were well tolerated, the most common side-effects
being gastrointestinal symptoms. Significantly more patients in the fl
uoxetine-treatment group experienced activating adverse events. The st
udy demonstrates similar antidepressant efficacy and tolerability for
sertraline and fluoxetine in acute and continuation treatment and equi
valence of sertraline 50 mg daily with fluoxetine 20 mg daily in the t
reatment of depression.