A control study of venlafaxine vs. paroxetine in the treatment of depression concomitant with chronic pain

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of venlafaxine vs.paroxetine in the treatment of depression concomitant with chronic pain.Methods A total of 56 depressive patients concomitant with chronic pain were randomly divided into venlafaxine group(28 cases) and paroxetine group(28 cases) treated with venlafaxine and paroxetine respectively for 8 weeks.The efficacy was evaluated with Hamilton Depression scale(HAMD) and Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),and the safety was evaluated with Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS).Results At the end of 8-week treatment,there were significant differences in clinical cure rate(75.0% vs.53.6%) and effective power(89.3% vs.64.3%) between venlafaxine group and paroxetine group(P0.05).Scores of HAMD and VAS in the two groups decreased significantly at the end of the 8-weeks treatment compared with baseline(P0.05).The reducing rate of HAMD in venlafaxine group were significantly higher than that in paroxetine group at the 1st,2nd,4th,8th weekend of the treatment(P0.05).The reducing rate of VAS in venlafaxine group were significantly higher than that in paroxetine group at the 2nd,4th,8th weekend of the treatment(P0.05).The two groups had similar adverse effects and good tolerance.Conclusion Compared with paroxetine,venlafaxine has better efficacy and takes effect more quickly in the treatment of depression concomitant with chronic pain.