Comparison of escitalopram with citalopram in treatment of depression:a randomized,double-blind,multicenter study

AIM To evaluate the efficacy and safety of escitalopram in treating depression.METHODS In this randomized,double-blind,double-mimicry,citalopram parallel controlled multicenter study,the patients were randomized in two groups who were treated with escitalopram oxalate tablet 10-20 mg·d~(-1) or citalopram hydrobromide tablet 20 - 40 mg ? d~(-1) respectively.The primary efficacy variable was Hamilton Depression Scale 17-item(HAMD-17) while Clinical Global Impression(CGI) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used as secondary variables.Adverse events observation,lab examination and vital signs check were taken to assess the safety.RESULTS In FAS(235 patients),the amount of patients belonged to escitalopram group or citalopram group was 119 vs.116;in PPS(218 patients),110 vs.108.At the end of wk 1,2,4 and 6 in treatment,there were statistically significant reductions in HAMD-17 or HAMA total scores in both groups compared with their baseline(P0.01),however,there was no significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).After 6 weeks treatment,the reduction in HAMD-17 total score of escitalopram group was(13.28±4.30),while the reduction of citalopram group was(13.67±5.29) by FAS analysis. For escitalopram group and citalopram group,the response rate was 79.8%and 81.9%,the remission rate was 66.4%and 62.9%,respectively,with no significant difference between the two groups(both P0.05). Similar findings were found in CGI and HAMA(P0.05).Safety assessment showed there was no statistically significant difference between the symptoms and incidence of adverse reactions(P0.05). CONCLUSION Escitalopram is effective,safe and comparable to citalopram in treatment of patients with depression.