This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Weintraub, D. Articles by Oslin, D. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Weintraub, D. Articles by Oslin, D. W. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Effect of Increasing the Dose and Duration of Sertraline Trial in the Treatment of Depressed Nursing Home Residents

Joel E. Streim, MD

Catherine J. Datto, MD

Ira R. Katz, MD, PhD

Suzanne D. DiFilippo, RN

David W. Oslin, MD

There has been limited research into defining what constitutes an adequate first-line antidepressant trial in elderly patients. The authors report the outcome of extended, high-dosage sertraline treatment in a sample of nursing home residents experiencing residual significant depressive symptoms after 10 weeks of treatment with sertraline at a final dosage of 100 mg/day. Subjects who had a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score 12 after 10 weeks of treatment with sertraline were eligible for the 8-week open-label extension phase, which involved titrating the sertraline dosage to 200 mg/day. The cumulative response rate was 52% for the extension phase, compared with 37% for the acute phase. Examining acute phase nonresponders, 39% responded during the extension phase. Rates of discontinuation due to adverse events were comparable in the 2 phases. Our findings suggest that an extended trial or high dosages of sertraline may benefit some depressed elderly patients with persistent depression after acute treatment. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2003; 16:109-111)

Key Words: sertraline • elderly • depression

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 16, No. 2, 109-111 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0891988703016002008


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?