Comparative study of escitalopram and paroxetinee for senile depression

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of escitalopram and paroxetinee in treating senile depression.Methods Fifty patients with senile depression treated from January 2011 to June 2012 were randomly divided into escitalopram group and paroxetine group,25 patients for each group.Escitalopram was given at the initial dose of 5 mg/d with the maximum of 20 mg/d,while paroxetine at the initial dose of 10 mg/d with the maximum of 40 mg/d.Both drugs were orally administered after supper for 6 weeks.Clinical efficacy was assessed with Hamilton depression scale(HAMD) and adverse reactions with treatment emergent symptoms scale(TESS) before treatment and on the 2nd,4th,and 6th weekend after treatment.Measurement data were processed with t-test,count data with χ2test,the result of P0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results On the 2nd weekend after treatment,scores of escitalopram group [(14.5±4.5) 分]were lowered significantly than those of paroxetinee group [(17.2±3.9)分],which showed significant difference(χ2=2.267,P0.05).The effective rate,on the 4th and 6th weekend after treatment,HAMD scores in both groups showed significant difference(P0.05).After treatment,TESS scores in escitalopram group were lower than those in paroxetinee group,which showed no significantdifference(P0.05).Conclusion Escitalopramisasafeandeffective antidepressant,which is suitable for senile depression.