BACKGROUND: Questions have been raised regarding the relative efficacy and tolerability of the different serotonin transport inhibitors in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. We compared the results from four large multicenter placebo-controlled trials of the serotonin transport inhibitors clomipramine hydrochloride (N = 520), fluoxetine hydrochloride (N = 355), fluvoxamine maleate (N = 320), and sertraline hydrochloride (N = 325) for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHODS: Effect size was calculated by subtracting the end-point drug treatment mean change from the end-point placebo mean change and dividing by the end-point pooled change standard deviation. A test for overall differences between effect sizes was conducted, followed by all possible pairwise comparisons. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was the primary outcome measure for all four studies. RESULTS: All four agents were significantly more effective than placebo, with clomipramine significantly more effective than the other three treatments, which did not differ in effect size. A significantly greater percentage of patients treated with clomipramine were rated much or very much improved than were patients treated with fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, or sertraline. CONCLUSION: While the results of this meta-analysis support the superiority of clomipramine, head-to-head, double-blind comparisons of these compounds would be the best test of comparative efficacy and tolerability.
BACKGROUND: Questions have been raised regarding the relative efficacy and tolerability of the different serotonin transport inhibitors in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. We compared the results from four large multicenter placebo-controlled trials of the serotonin transport inhibitors clomipramine hydrochloride (N = 520), fluoxetine hydrochloride (N = 355), fluvoxamine maleate (N = 320), and sertraline hydrochloride (N = 325) for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHODS: Effect size was calculated by subtracting the end-point drug treatment mean change from the end-point placebo mean change and dividing by the end-point pooled change standard deviation. A test for overall differences between effect sizes was conducted, followed by all possible pairwise comparisons. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was the primary outcome measure for all four studies. RESULTS: All four agents were significantly more effective than placebo, with clomipramine significantly more effective than the other three treatments, which did not differ in effect size. A significantly greater percentage of patients treated with clomipramine were rated much or very much improved than were patients treated with fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, or sertraline. CONCLUSION: While the results of this meta-analysis support the superiority of clomipramine, head-to-head, double-blind comparisons of these compounds would be the best test of comparative efficacy and tolerability.
Authors: J A Gogos; M Morgan; V Luine; M Santha; S Ogawa; D Pfaff; M Karayiorgou Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 1998-08-18 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Carmen P McLean; Laurie J Zandberg; Page E Van Meter; Joseph K Carpenter; Helen Blair Simpson; Edna B Foa Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2015-12 Impact factor: 4.384
Authors: Dennis L Murphy; Meredith A Fox; Kiara R Timpano; Pablo R Moya; Renee Ren-Patterson; Anne M Andrews; Andrew Holmes; Klaus-Peter Lesch; Jens R Wendland Journal: Neuropharmacology Date: 2008-09-11 Impact factor: 5.250