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  • Fluoxetine, trazodone and ritanserin are more effective than placebo when used as add-on therapies for negative symptoms of schizophrenia

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Therapeutics
Fluoxetine, trazodone and ritanserin are more effective than placebo when used as add-on therapies for negative symptoms of schizophrenia

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ebmh1134

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    Question

    Question

    Are antidepressents effective add-ons to antipsychotics for the treatment of negative symptoms in chronic schizophrenia?

    Outcomes

    Change in negative symptoms.

    Methods

    Design

    Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Data sources

    PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO were searched in August 2009, and supplemented with handsearch for relevant studies.

    Study selection and analysis

    Randomised, placebo-controlled trials published were eligible. Studies were excluded if antidepressant was used to treat an explicit comorbid psychiatric disorder, for example, postpsychotic depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, emergence of major depression in remitted schizophrenia; if an antidepressant was not used as add-on medication; or if an antidepressant was not normally classified under a standard antidepressant category.

    Main results

    22 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) met inclusion criteria; comparing 23 add-on antidepressant interventions with placebo. The total sample size was 819 (416 in pooled experimental groups). Onset of schizophrenia was in early adulthood for all participants with an average duration of illness over 15 years. There was a greater proportion of …

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    Footnotes

    • Sources of funding Supported in part by the Quality of Life Research and Development Foundation.

    Footnotes

    • Competing interests None.