Clinical Efficacy of Venlafaxine vs.Paroxetine for Depression

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of venlafaxine vs.paroxetine for depression.METHODS: A total of 60 patients with depression treated in our hospital from Jan.2010 to Jan.2012 were assigned to receive either venlafaxine(n=30)or paroxetine(n=30).After treatment for 2 months,Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS)and Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD)were applied to measure the reduction of HAMD score,meanwhile,the curative efficacy and adverse reaction of two groups of patients were observed.RESULTS: No statistical differences were noted between venlafaxine-treated group and paroxetine-treated group after two months of treatment inn HAMD score [(6.00+4.13)vs.(5.76+3.54)] and total effective rate [90%(27/30)vs.96.7%(29/30)](P0.05).TESS scores of the two groups showed that the adverse reactions induced by the two drugs were mild and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with regard to incidence of adverse drug reactions(P0.05).CONCLUSION: Both venlafaxine and paroxetine are effective,well-tolerated and safe medications for depression and both resulted in satisfactory clinical efficacy in the treatment of patients with depression.