Clinical efficacy of Vortioxetine and escitalopram in the treatment of depression

Objectives: This study was aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of vortioxetine hydrobromide in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: One hundred and eighty patients with the newly diagnosed depression in our hospital between August 2018 and August 2019 were selected and randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 90 each group. The control group was treated with escitalopram, and the observation group was treated with voltaxetine. The efficacy and adverse reactions were evaluated by the Hamilton Depression scale-17 (HAMD-17), Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), Perceived Deficits Questionnaire-Depression (PDQ-D), and treatment emergent symptom scale (TESS) before treatment and at the end of the 8th and 24th week after treatment.

Results: At the end of the 8th and 24th week after treatment, the HAMD-17 scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05); at the end of the 8th and 24th week after treatment, the PDQ-D and SDS scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05), and the above scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Voltaxetine can improve cognitive function and clinical symptoms of patients with severe depression and has high safety, which is worth clinical attention.