Control study of mirtazapine combined with fluoxetine in the treatment of refractory depression

Objective To investigate the efficiency and side effects of mirtazapine combined with fluoxetine in the treatment of refractory depression.Methods A total of 62 patients with refractory depression were randomly divided into study group treated with mirtazapine fluoxetine,mirtazapine group treated with mirtazapien monotherapy fluoxetine group treated with fluoxetine monotherapy for 6 weeks.The efficiency was assessed with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA) and the side effects was assessed with Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS) at the baseline and at the 2nd,4th,6th weekend of the treatment.Results At the end of the treatment,scores of HAMD and HAMA in all the three groups decreased significantly.The remarkable response rate and the total effective rate was 76.2% and 90.0% in study group,38.1% and 57.1% in mirtazapine group,35.0% and 60.0% in fluoxetine group.Remarkable response rate and total effective rate in study group were significantly higher than those in other groups(P0.05).There was no significant difference in score of TESS in three groups(P0.05).Conclusion Mirtazapine combined with fluoxetine has better efficiency and almost equal side effects in the treatment of refractory depression when compared with mirtazapine or fluoxetine monotherapy.