Title

A double-blind randomized controlled trial of olanzapine plus sertraline vs olanzapine plus placebo for psychotic depression: the study of pharmacotherapy of psychotic depression (STOP-PD)

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry

Publication Date

2009-08-05

Document Type

Article

Subjects

Antipsychotic Agents; Benzodiazepines; Depressive Disorder, Major; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Humans; Placebos; Psychotic Disorders; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors; Sertraline; Treatment Outcome

Disciplines

Psychiatry

Abstract

CONTEXT: Evidence for the efficacy of combination pharmacotherapy has been limited and without positive trials in geriatric patients with major depression (MD) with psychotic features.

OBJECTIVES: To compare remission rates of MD with psychotic features in those treated with a combination of atypical antipsychotic medication plus a serotonin reuptake inhibitor with those treated with antipsychotic monotherapy; and to compare response by age.

DESIGN: Twelve-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

SETTING: Clinical services of 4 academic sites. Patients Two hundred fifty-nine subjects with MD with psychotic features randomized by age (<60 or > or =60 years) (mean [standard deviation (SD)], 41.3 [10.8] years in 117 younger adults vs 71.7 [7.8] years in 142 geriatric participants). Intervention Target doses of 15 to 20 mg of olanzapine per day plus masked sertraline or placebo at 150 to 200 mg per day. Main Outcome Measure Remission rates of MD with psychotic features.

RESULTS: Treatment with olanzapine/sertraline was associated with higher remission rates during the trial than olanzapine/placebo (odds ratio [OR], 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-1.47; P < .001); 41.9% of subjects who underwent combination therapy were in remission at their last assessment compared with 23.9% of subjects treated with monotherapy (chi(2)(1) = 9.53, P = .002). Combination therapy was comparably superior in both younger (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.05-1.50; P = .02) and older (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.09-1.66; P = .01) adults. Overall, tolerability was comparable across age groups. Both age groups had significant increases in cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, but statistically significant increases in glucose occurred only in younger adults. Younger adults gained significantly more weight than older subjects (mean [SD], 6.5 [6.6] kg vs 3.3 [4.9] kg, P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Combination pharmacotherapy is efficacious for the treatment of MD with psychotic features. Future research must determine the benefits vs risks of continuing atypical antipsychotic medications beyond 12 weeks.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00056472.

DOI of Published Version

10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.79

Source

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Aug;66(8):838-47. Link to article on publisher's site

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Archives of general psychiatry

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

19652123

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