A comparative clinical study for venlafaxine versus fluxetine in the treatment of depression

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of venlafaxine in the treatment of depression. Methods: 102 patients with depression were randomly administered with venlafaxine (n=51,48 completed) or fluoxetine (n=51,49 completed) for 6 weeks. The initial doses of venlafaxine versus fluoxetine were 50mg versus 20mg daily, and tapered up to 75～200mg versus 40mg daily in 7～10 days. The efficacy was evaluated with HAMD and CGI-SI. The safety profiles were assessed with TESS. Results: The overall efficacy of two treatment groups showed no significant difference (83.3% versus 81.2%,P0.05). The median response for venlafaxine treatment was on the (6.7±3.3) day and for fluoxetine on the (10.2±4.7) day (P0.05). Patients treated with venlafaxine experienced the improvement of depression symptoms in the scores of HAMD and CGI-SI as well as TESS at the end of the study compared to patients treated with fluoxetine, which was not significant (P0.05). Conclusion: Venlafaxine is a new option for the patients with depression.