SSRI Failure Can Effectively Be Met by Switching to New SSRI

Patients who fail treatment on one SSRI may be well-served by switching to a different SSRI or other antidepressant according to newly published data from STAR*D. The 727 patients tested all suffered from a major depressive disorder and either could not tolerate citalopram or demonstrated no remission on the drug. They were randomly switched to sustained-release bupropion, sertraline, or extended-release venlafaxine for up to 14 weeks. Remission rates, as measured by the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, were 21.3% for patient’s treated with bupropion, 17.6% for those treated with sertraline (an SSRI), and 24.8% for those receiving venlafaxine (an SSRI). The results clearly demonstrate that patients who do not respond to one SSRI may respond to another SSRI or other antidepressant. The results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/354/12/1231