Efficacy of Duloxetine for the Treatment of Depression: Relationship to Most Recent Antidepressant Trial

To describe and examine, in a sample of depressed outpatients, the relationship between level of response to a previous SSRI or SNRI antidepressant trial and subsequent response to duloxetine hydrochloride. Experimental Design: Data collected from a multicenter trial that evaluated the safety and efficacy of duloxetine for the treatment of major depressive disorder were analyzed to determine the relationship between response to previous antidepressant treatment and degree of response to duloxetine. Eighty-two patients, with documented antidepressant usage history, were included in the analysis. Participants were required, at baseline of the duloxetine treatment protocol, to be 18 years of age and meet criteria for major depressive disorder. Patients, whose data were included in these analyses, were classified as belonging to one of the three groups based on the most recent antidepressant treatment received: nonresponders, partial responders, and responders without remission. Time to first response, first remission, sustained response, and sustained remission during the first 12 weeks of duloxetine treatment were compared across patient groups. Principal Observations: Response and remission with duloxetine treatment ranged between 57 and 68% and 29 and 57%, respectively, and did not differ significantly across previous response levels. An additional analysis, collapsing the partial responder and responder without remission groups, indicated significantly lower rates of remission in those patients who demonstrated