A comparative study of escitalopram combined with quetiapine in the treatment of patients with refractory depression

Objective:To explore the effectiveness and safety of escitalopram combined with quetiapine in the treatment of patients with refractory depression. Method:A total of 74 patients with refractory depression were randomly assigned to two group.One group was treated with escitalopram and the other with a combination of escitalopram and quetiapine.The duration of treatment was 8 weeks.Disease Severity was assessed by 17 items Hamilton rating scale for depression(HAMD),and Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA).The safety was evaluated with treatment emergent symptom scale(TESS). Results:After treatment,the total scores of HAMD and HAMA in the two groups decreased significantly than before(all P0.01).At week 8,the effective rate of the research group was 57.9%,and that of control group was 33.3%,there was statistical difference between the two groups(P0.05).The two groups showed no significant statistical difference in the adverse event frequencies(P0.05). Conclusion:Compared with escitalopram alone,a combination of escitalopram and quetiapine has higher curative effect and earlier response in the treatment of refractory depression with same safety.