A comparative study of citalopram and imipramine in the treatment of depressive disorders

Objective:To compare the clinic effects and the safety of citalopram and imipramine in treatment of depression.Methods:Seventy seven patients with depressive disorder were randomly divided into citalopram treatment(41 patients)and imipramine treatment(36 patients)for 6 weeks.The clinic effects and side effects were tested with HAMD,HAMA and TESS before treatment and 2,4,6 weeks after treatment respectively.Results: After 6-week treatment,the significant improvement rate and response rate was 70.73% and 85.36% respectively in citalopram group,75.0% and 86.11% respectively in imipramine group.There were no significant differences between two groups(P0.05).18 patients had the side effects in citalopram group and 25 ones in imipramine group.There was statistically difference between two groups(P0.01).Conclusions: Citalopram has better efficacy and fewer side effects for depressive disorders.