ONE-YEAR REAL-WORLD PROSPECTIVE FOLLOW-UP-STUDY OF A MAJOR DEPRESSIVEEPISODE OF PATIENTS TREATED WITH PAROXETINE AND PINDOLOL OR PAROXETINE FOR 6 WEEKS

The objective of our study was an assessment of outcome in a 1 year 'r eal world', prospective follow-up study of patients who were treated w ith paroxetine 20 mg plus pindolol 7.5 mg or paroxetine 20 mg plus pla cebo for 6 weeks. Eighty patients recruited to a double-blind placebo- controlled randomized 6 weeks study of paroxetine and pindolol were fo llowed up for 6 months and interviewed after 1 year. A Kaplan-Meier su rvival analysis of the patients who relapsed having taken paroxetine a nd pindolol, compared with those who relapsed having taken paroxetine and placebo, shows that the pindolol group had a better clinical outco me. After 1 year patients who had responded to medication by 2 weeks h ad done better than the rest and they had been more compliant with med ication for 6 months. There are indications that the earlier a patient responds to medication, the better the long-term outcome. Int Clin Ps ychopharmacol 13:169-174 (C) 1998 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.