Mirtazapine Compared with Paroxetine in Depressed Patients with Anxiety Symptoms

Objective To compare the efficacy of mirtazapine with that of paroxetine.Methods 62 patients with a diagnosis of major depressive.episode(CCMD-3)were randomly assigne to 8 weeks of treatment with mirtazapine or paroxetine.Efficacy was assessed by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.(HAMD-17),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA) the end of baseline and 1,2,4,8 weeks after treatment,and the safety was assessed by Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS).Results After 8 weeks treatment,the significant improvement rate of mirtazapine grorp and parnxetine group were 86.1% and 83.3%,respectively(P0.05),The efficacy started after 7 days treatment in mirtazapine group.The scores of HAMD and HAMA in two group were statisticral deference before and after treatment(P0.01).The main adverse reactions were lack of appetite,dry mouth,sexual dysfunction.Conclusion Mirtazapine had good effectiveness in the depressed patients with anxiety symptoms.Mirtazapin has less side effects,better safety and rapid response comparred with paroxetine suiting for clinical use.