© 1998 Evidence-Based Mental Health
Review: antidepressant drugs are effective in dysthymia
Lima MS, Moncrieff J. A comparison of drugs versus placebo for the treatment of dysthymia: a systematic review. (Cochrane Review, latest version 5 Jan 98). In: the Cochrane Library. Oxford: Update Software.
Question In patients with dysthymia are antidepressant drugs effective?
Studies were identified by electronic searches of The Cochrane Library, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Medline, PsycLIT, Biological Abstracts, and LILACS; reference searching; reviewing conference abstracts and book chapters on the treatment of depression; contacting pharmaceutical companies for unpublished trials; and by personal communication.
Studies were selected if they were randomised controlled trials that focused on the use of drugs compared with placebo in patients with dysthymia. Studies were excluded if the analysis of major depression and dysthymia was mixed, or if depression was secondary to another disorder.
Data were extracted on patient characteristics, type of therapy, changes in dysthymia, relapse rate, and adverse events.
15 trials involving 1964 patients were included. Similar results were obtained for the efficacy of the different drug groups considered: tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs); monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs); selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); and other drugs (sulpiride, amineptine, and ritanserin). A treatment response occurred more often and more patients
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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