Prescribed antidepressant medication among patients with treatment-resistant depression
| Antidepressant | Dose, mg | Class | n | % | % of ADs issued in England in 2011a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citalopram | 20–80 | SSRI | 448 | 38.0 | 28.9 |
| Fluoxetine | 20–80 | SSRI | 334 | 28.3 | 11.8 |
| Venlafaxine | 75–450 | SNRI | 93 | 7.9 | 5.9 |
| Mirtazapine | 30–60 | Other | 82 | 6.9 | 8.3 |
| Paroxetine | 20–60 | SSRI | 73 | 6.2 | 3.3 |
| Sertraline | 100–400 | SSRI | 39 | 3.3 | 7.8 |
| Escitalopram | 10–40 | SSRI | 25 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
| Lofepramine | 140–350 | TCA | 24 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| Dosulepin | 150–225 | TCA | 9 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
| Trazodone | 150–300 | TCA-related | 8 | 0.7 | 2.1 |
| Duloxetine | 60–90 | SNRI | 8 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| Amitriptyline | 150–200 | TCA | 6 | 0.5 | 20.5 |
| Reboxetine | 8–12 | NaRI | 3 | 0.3 | 0.09 |
| Other ADsb | Variable | Variable | 4 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
| Combined treatmentc | 19 | 1.6 | |||
| Augmented treatmentd | 2 | 0.2 |
↵a Data taken from England prescribing data 2011, https://catalogue.ic.nhs.uk/publications/prescribing/primary/pres-cost-anal-eng-2011/pres-cost-anal-eng-2011-rep.pdf.
↵b Other ADs: clomipramine (TCA), imipramine (TCA), moclobemide (MAOI), trimipramine (TCA).
↵c Combined treatment: patients taking two antidepressant medications at an adequate dose.
↵d Augmented treatment: patients taking another non-antidepressant medication along with their antidepressant, to augment their depression treatment. AD = antidepressant. SSRI = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. SNRI = serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. TCA = tricyclic antidepressant. NaRI = noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. MAOI = monoamine oxidase inhibitor.