Effects and safety of citalopram combined with low-dose risperidone on refractory depression

Objective To explore the effects and safety of citalopram combined with low-dose risperidone on refractory depression. Methods All of 54 patients with the refractory depression were ran-domly divided into two groups: augmented treatment group (taken citalopram 20 mg/d, risperidone 0.5-2.0mg/d) and mono-thempy group (taken citalopram alone 20 mg/d). The treatment lasted for 6 weeks. They were estimated with Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA), and treatment emergent symptom scale (TESS) at baseline and every two weeks subsequently. Results In the augment-ed treatment group, total effective rate was 60.7% and recovery and excellence rate was 50.0%, while that was 26.9% and 15.4% in mono-therapy group (P< 0.05). The adverse effect of two groups was minor. Conclu-sion Rispefidone may be a useful and safe adjunct to citalopram in treatment of refractory depression. Key words: Citalopram;  Depression, refractory ;  Rispefidone