Citalopram in depression--meta-analysis of intended and unintended effects.

An updated qualitative meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials is presented. When compared to reference drugs, especially tricyclics, citalopram after 6 weeks of treatment showed a similar intended effect on the depression index of the Hamilton scale. However, on the sleep index of the scale citalopram was weaker than tricyclics. When compared to placebo, citalopram after 6 weeks of treatment showed to be significantly superior on the Hamilton scale and on the global assessment scales. Analysis of unintended effects showed that citalopram had fewer side-effects than tricyclics, especially of anticholinergic types. In conclusion, citalopram has been found to be a non-sedating antidepressant which is well accepted by the patients due to its lack of unintended effects.