A comparative trial of fluoxetine versus trazodone in outpatients with major depression.

The effectiveness of fluoxetine as an antidepressant was contrasted with trazodone in a 6-week double-blind trial in 40 patients. The total score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the global improvement score on the Clinical Global Impressions scale favored trazodone at the end of 3 weeks of treatment. However, that difference was no longer apparent during the remainder of the study. The authors hypothesize that fluoxetine 20 mg/day may be an ineffective dosage of the drug or that fluoxetine has a slower onset of antidepressant action than does trazodone.