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International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2011), 14, 261–268.

f CINP 2010 R E V IE W
doi:10.1017/S146114571000115X

Efficacy of escitalopram compared to


citalopram: a meta-analysis

Stuart Montgomery1, Thomas Hansen2 and Siegfried Kasper3


1
University of London, UK
2
H. Lundbeck A/S, Denmark
3
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University Vienna, Austria

Abstract
The aim of this review was to assess the clinical relevance of the relative antidepressant efficacy of escit-
alopram and citalopram by meta-analysis. Studies in major depressive disorder (MDD) with both escit-
alopram and citalopram treatment arms were identified. Adult patients had to meet DSM-IV criteria for
MDD. The primary outcome measure was the treatment difference in Montgomery–Asberg Depression
Rating Scale (MADRS) total score at week 8 (or last assessment if <8 wk). Secondary outcome measures
were response (o50 % improvement from baseline) and remission (MADRS f12). A search of the litera-

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ture and websites found eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and onr naturalistic trial, with a total of
2009 patients (escitalopram, n=995 ; citalopram, n=1014). Escitalopram was significantly more effective
than citalopram in overall treatment effect, with an estimated mean treatment difference of 1.7 points at
week 8 (or last assessment if <8 wk) on the MADRS (95 % CI 0.8–2.6, p=0.0002) (six RCTs used the
MADRS), and in responder rate (8.3 percentage points, 95 % CI 4.4–12.3) (eight RCTs) and remitter rate
(17.6 percentage points, 95 % CI 12.1–23.1) analyses (reported for four RCTs), corresponding to number-
needed-to-treat (NNT) values of 11.9 (p<0.0001) for response and 5.7 (p<0.0001) for remission. The
overall odds ratios were 1.44 (p<0.0003) for response and 1.86 (p<0.0001) for remission, in favour of
escitalopram. In this meta-analysis, the statistically significant superior efficacy of escitalopram compared
to citalopram was shown to be clinically relevant.
Received 18 January 2010 ; Reviewed 10 May 2010 ; Revised 13 July 2010 ; Accepted 19 August 2010 ;
First published online 29 September 2010
Key words : Escitalopram, MADRS, MDD, NNT, response.

Introduction (Boulenger et al. 2006 ; Montgomery & Andersen, 2006 ;


Moore et al. 2005) and is seen in several meta-analyses
Escitalopram has been found to have superior efficacy
(Auquier et al. 2003 ; Lam & Andersen, 2006 ; Kennedy
to other antidepressants in the treatment of major de-
et al. 2006, 2009 ; Lepola et al. 2004 ; Llorca et al. 2005).
pressive disorder (MDD) in a number of individual
The study of Moore et al. (2005) was designed to test
studies and in a series of meta-analyses. Escitalopram
prospectively for a possible difference between 20 mg
has been shown to be superior to paroxetine
escitalopram and 40 mg citalopram in patients with
(Boulenger et al. 2006 ; Kasper et al. 2009) in a pro-
severe depression [Montgomery–Asberg Depression
spective double-blind study and in meta-analyses of
Rating Scale (MADRS ; Montgomery & Åsberg, 1979)
randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing escit-
score of o30], and the observed difference of 2.1 was
alopram to commonly prescribed antidepressants
significant and clinically relevant. In patients with
(Kennedy et al. 2006, 2009). The superiority of escit-
very severe depression there is an even more striking
alopram is even more clear-cut in severe depression, as
treatment effect. In the study of Yevtushenko et al.
shown in individual studies in which it was compared
(2007) in severe depression (MADRS o30, except for
to citalopram (the racemic mixture of escitalopram
12 patients) a difference of 3.51 for 10 mg escitalopram
and the R-enantiomer), paroxetine, and venlafaxine
compared to 20 mg citalopram increases to 3.99 in
very severe depression (MADRS o35). The superior-
Address for correspondence : Professor S. Montgomery, PO Box 8751,
London W13 8WH, UK.
ity of escitalopram to citalopram needs to be viewed
Tel. : +44 20 8997 2689 Fax : +44 20 8566 7986 in the context of the paucity of studies showing a sig-
Email : Stuart@samontgomery.co.uk nificant difference between antidepressants. Only
262 S. A. Montgomery et al.

three antidepressants (clomipramine, venlafaxine, studies provided information on standard deviations


escitalopram) were found to have two or more studies (S.D.) or standard errors of the mean (S.E.M), either di-
showing superiority against a standard antidepressant rectly or of differences between mean changes from
under conditions of fair comparison (Montgomery baseline (S.E.D.) in different treatment arms. In the lat-
et al. 2007). ter case, assuming equal variances between compared
This meta-analysis examined published data and groups, the S.D. was estimated from the equation :
data available on publicly accessible websites from all 2
S:D: =S:E:D:2  (n1  n2 =(n1 +n2 )),
studies with both escitalopram and citalopram treat-
ment arms in patients with MDD in order to evaluate where n1 and n2 are sample sizes for groups 1 and 2,
the potential superiority of escitalopram and place it in respectively.
the perspective of a clinically relevant difference. If such measures of variability were not present, they
were imputed from either exact p values or p values
with sufficiently narrow limits (e.g. 0.01<p<0.05 or
Methods p<0.001) from tests comparing two groups. In the
latter case, the upper limit of the p-value interval
Study identification
was used to impute variability estimates. Because the
Multiple computer searches using Medline (1966–June difference between the two compared groups was
2009), EMBASE (1998–2009), and the Cochrane supplied along with groupwise sample sizes, and as-

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Collaboration (1980–June 2009) were conducted. suming equal variances between the compared groups,
Key words, including escitalopram AND citalopram the S.D. could be calculated by inverting the p value
AND (depression or major depressive disorder or with the appropriate inverse t distribution.
major depressive episode), were specified. Additional One study indicated the length of a one-sided
studies in any language were sought in reference lists 95 % confidence interval (CI) and equating this to
of retrieved articles. Unpublished trials were identi- z0.95 . S.E.D.=1.645 . S.E.D., the S.E.M of each change from
fied through the Controlled Trials database, www. baseline was estimated (assuming equal variances be-
lundbecktrials.com, www.forestclinicaltrials.com, and tween groups). The use of normal fractile leads to a
the National Institute of Health’s Computer Retrieval higher estimated S.D. than an appropriate t value with
of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) service degrees of freedom equalling the sum of the two
(1972–2005). In addition, the following clinical trial groups ’ sample sizes minus 2.
registration sites were searched : www.lundbecktrials. For some studies, the appropriate variability esti-
com, www.forestclinicaltrials.com, www.clinicaltrials. mates or reasonably exact p values were not provided,
gov, www.clinicaltrialresults.org, www.ifpma.org/ because these studies simply reported p>0.05 or that
clinicaltrials, and www.controlled-trials.com. the comparison was ‘not significant ’ (which is the
same). For these studies, S.D.s were imputed assuming
Data extraction p=0.25 and the above inversion method was applied
to this p value. This method produced S.D.s that were
For most studies, continuous variables were based
larger than those that could be estimated from graphs
on the full analysis set (FAS), comprising patients
(which are remarkably constant) and will, therefore,
that had been randomized to treatment, had received
tend to produce estimates attenuated towards the null
at least one dose of study medication, and had at least
hypothesis.
one valid post-baseline efficacy assessment. An
analysis was also carried out on the intent-to-treat Count or relative frequency outcomes (response
(ITT) set, comprising all patients who received at least and remission)
one dose of study medication.
In all studies reporting this outcome, a responder was
defined as a binary outcome indicating o50 % change
Continuous rating scale outcomes [MADRS and 17-item
from baseline. Remission based on the MADRS was
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD17)]
defined as a MADRS score f12, while for HAMD17 it
All studies provided information on appropriate was a score f7. Of the articles reporting either of these
means [most often adjusted, typically from ANCOVAs outcomes, some reported estimates (predictions from
using the last-observation-carried-forward (LOCF) logistic regression analyses) by treatment group, while
approach], sometimes only in graphs, either at specific others reported crude (i.e. unadjusted) estimates such
time-points, or change from baseline at specific time- as ‘107/157 ’. In the first case, adjusted estimates were
points/endpoint, and per group sample size. Most converted to number of patients that, for example,
Efficacy of escitalopram compared to citalopram 263

were in remission by multiplying the estimated pre- Statistical methods used in the meta-analysis
dictions by the by-treatment FAS sample size. In the
All meta-analyses based on the above outlined input,
latter case the ‘raw ’ numbers were used. Hence,
regardless of outcome type, were performed using the
the response and remission meta-data consist of both
fixed-effects general linear model described in Hedges
adjusted and unadjusted figures. The numbers of
& Olkin (1985). All p values and confidence intervals
patients responding or in remission, together with
are based on two-sided considerations with type I
by-treatment sample sizes, were extracted from the
error set to 0.05.
studies. The by-treatment ITT sample sizes were used
as denominator in the analyses of responders and re-
mitters, so that patients excluded from the FAS were Results
treated as non-responders and/or non-remitters.
Nine trials were identified that included escitalopram
Preliminary data handling (n=995) and citalopram (n=1014) treatment arms
(FAS, Table 1). Some treatment arms were omitted
Continuous rating scale outcomes (MADRS and HAMD17) in order to make a fair dose comparison [the 10-mg
For each study, the difference between mean change escitalopram group (n=119) in study 5 and the 10-mg
from baseline to week 8 (or last assessment for citalopram group (n=111) in study 8], since there was
studies <8 wk) between escitalopram and citalopram no 20-mg citalopram group in study 5, and no 5-mg

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was estimated together with their corresponding escitalopram group in study 8. The corresponding
variances/S.E.M. For studies with more than one dose numbers in the FAS were escitalopram (n=977) and
of escitalopram or citalopram (Burke et al. 2002, citalopram (n=989). All studies were RCTs except
Yevtushenko et al. 2007), only corresponding doses study 9, which was naturalistic. Two studies only used
were used (i.e. 10 mg/d escitalopram vs. 20 mg/d the HAMD17 (Hamilton, 1960) (studies 4 and 7), and
citalopram, or 20 mg/d escitalopram vs. 40 mg/d two studies used both the HAMD17 and the MADRS
citalopram). The difference in mean change from (studies 1 and 5). Two studies did not report response
baseline and corresponding S.E.M were the by-study and remission rates (studies 1 and 5). Only one study
input for the meta-analysis. was not published as a peer-reviewed article (study 1),
although the data are reported on the Forest website
Responders and remitters and these data have been included in previous meta-
analyses.
The responder and remitter rates for each study were
converted into log odds ratios and associated standard Treatment difference
errors. The log odds ratio and associated S.E. was the
by-study input for the meta-analysis. The overall mean treatment difference between esci-
talopram (n=813) and citalopram (n=827) was 1.7
Number needed to treat (NNT) (95 % CI 0.8–2.6, p=0.0002) MADRS points for the six
RCTs that used this scale (studies 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8) (see
The NNT is the inverse of the difference between the Fig. 1). When the non-RCT (study 9) was also in-
responder (or remitter) probabilities of two treatments. cluded, the overall mean treatment difference between
It was assumed that the responder (or remitter) prob- escitalopram (n=880) and citalopram (n=887) was 1.9
ability of each treatment was normally distributed, (95 % CI 1.0–2.8, p<0.0001) MADRS points. The two
with mean as the estimated remission (or response) trials that only used the HAMD17 scale (studies 4 and 7)
probability and standard error as the square root of had an overall mean treatment difference between
[p(1xp)/ITT sample size], where p is the responder (or escitalopram (n=97) and citalopram (n=102) of 2.4
remitter) probability of each treatment. With these as- (95 % CI x0.7 to 5.4, p=0.1262) points.
sumptions, all of the statistical machinery described
below applies to the difference of the responder (or
Responder
remitter) probability between treatments. After per-
forming the meta-analysis on the difference between The overall odds ratio for responders was 1.44 (95 %
responder (or remitter) probabilities between treat- CI 1.18–1.75, p=0.0003), in favour of escitalopram,
ments and calculating an appropriate confidence in- based on the eight RCTs [studies 1–8 ; escitalopram
terval thereof, the point estimate and the limits of the (Esc)=928, citalopram (Cit)=954, all-patients-treated
confidence intervals were back-transformed to an es- set (APTS)]. The responder rates were 72.3 % for
timated NNT (and associated confidence intervals). escitalopram and 63.9 % for citalopram, a difference
Table 1. Overview of studies included in the meta-analysis

264
Baseline Withdrawals

S. A. Montgomery et al.
Duration Treatment MADRS due to Completers
Study no. (reference) inclusion RCT Scale Setting Response Remission (dosage) score APTS (FAS) AEs ( %)a ( %)a

1 (Forest Labs, 2005 ; 8 wk Yes MADRS Spec Yes No Esc (10–20)1 28.7¡4.3 125 (124) 8.8 76.8
Anon, 2002) MADRS o22 HAMD17 Cit (20–40)2 28.3¡5.0 123 (119) 4.1 80.5
Pbo 28.8¡5.0
2 (Colonna et al. 2005) 24 wk Yes MADRS GP Yes Yes Esc (10) 29.5¡4.3 175 (165) 5.7 86.3
MADRS o22 Cit (20) 30.2¡4.7 182 (174) 9.9 84.1
3 (Lepola et al. 2003 ; 8 wk Yes MADRS GP Yes Yes Esc (10–20)3 29.0¡4.3 155 (155) 2.6 94.2
Anon, 2002) MADRS o22 Cit (20–40)4 29.2¡4.2 160 (159) 3.8 95.0
Pbo 28.7¡4.0
4 (Lalit et al. 2004) 4 wk Yes HAMD17 Spec Yes Yes Esc (10) 26¡6 69 (69) 1.4 94.2
HAMD17 o18 Cit (20) 25¡5 74 (74) 2.7 95.9
Ser (100)
5 (Burke et al. 2002 ; 8 wk Yes MADRS Spec Yes No Esc (10) 28.0¡4.9 119 (118) 4.2 79.8
Anon, 2002) MADRS o22 Esc (20) 28.9¡4.6 125 (123) 10.4 75.2
HAMD17 Cit (40) 29.2¡4.5 125 (125) 8.8 74.4
Pbo 29.5¡5.0
6 (Moore et al. 2005) 8 wk Yes MADRS GP & Yes Yes Esc (20) 36.3¡4.8 142 (138) 2.9 93.0
MADRS o30 spec Cit (40) 35.7¡5.8 152 (142) 6.3 83.6
7 (Li et al. 2006) 6 wk Yes HAMD17 Spec Yes No Esc (10–20)5 23.7¡4.3 28 (28) – 92.9
HAMD17 o18 Cit (20–40)5 23.8¡3.6 28 (28) – 96.4
8 (Yevtushenko 6 wk Yes MADRS Spec Yes Yes Esc (10) 34.8¡3.5 109 (108) – 99.1
et al. 2007) MADRS o25 Cit (10) 35.4¡3.3 111 (106) – 95.5
Cit (20) 35.7¡3.8 110 (108) 98.2
9 (Lançon et al. 2006)b 8 wk No MADRS Spec Yes Yes Esc (5–20)6 39.6¡6.2 67 (67) 1.5 95.5
MADRS o30 Cit (10–40)7 37.0¡5.8 60 (60) 8.3 86.7

Esc, Escitalopram ; Cit, citalopram ; Pbo, placebo-controlled study ; Ser, sertraline ; RCT, randomized controlled trial, Spec, specialist settings ; n.a., not available ; APTS, all-patients-
treated set ; FAS, full-analysis set ; AEs, adverse events.
a
Values from last visit (LOCF), based on the APTS.
b
Non-randomized design.
1
Mean dose 17.6 mg ; 2 mean dose 35.3 mg ; 3 mean dose 14.0 mg ; 4 mean dose 24.4 mg ; 5 mean dose not available ; 6 mean dose 12.7 mg ; 7 mean dose 28.8 mg.

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Efficacy of escitalopram compared to citalopram 265

Favours Cit Favours Esc Favours Cit Favours Esc


MD-02 MD-02
Colonna et al. Colonna et al.
Lepola et al. Lepola et al.
Lalit et al.* Lalit et al.
Burke et al. Burke et al.
Moore et al. Moore et al.
Li et al.* Li et al.
Yevtushenko et al. Yevtushenko et al.
Lancon et al.* Lancon et al.*

Overall mean Overall mean


MADRS
–4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10 –20 –10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Estimated mean difference from baseline (MADRS or HAMD17): Esc vs. Cit Response (%): Esc minus Cit

Fig. 1. Estimated mean treatment difference in MADRS or Fig. 2. Estimated difference in response rates at week 8
HAMD17 total score at week 8 (or last assessment if <8 wk) (or last assessment if <8 wk) (EscxCit) with 95 % confidence
shown with 95 % confidence intervals. Esc, Escitalopram ; intervals. Esc, Escitalopram ; Cit, citalopram. Response
Cit, citalopram. * The studies of Lalit et al. (2004) (4 wk) and is defined as the percentage of patients with o50 %
Li et al. (2006) (6 wk) used only the HAMD17, and that of improvement from baseline (MADRS or HAMD17). * The

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Lançon et al. (2006) was a naturalistic study, therefore results naturalistic study of Lançon et al. (2006) was not included
from these studies are not included in the calculation of the in the calculation of the overall mean.
overall mean of 1.7 (95 % CI 0.8–2.6, p=0.0002) MADRS
points.
Favours Cit Favours Esc
Colonna et al.
(EscxCit) of 8.3 percentage points (95 % CI 4.4–12.3).
The corresponding NNT for responder was 11.9 (95 % Lepola et al.
CI 8.1–22.8, p<0.0001). The differences in responder Moore et al.
rates (in percentage points) for each study are shown
Yevtushenko et al.
in Fig. 2.
Lancon et al.*
Remission

Remission was defined as either MADRS f12, or Overall mean


HAMD17 f7 scores. Based on the four RCTs using the
MADRS that reported remission (studies 2, 3, 6, 8 ; –1 0 1 2 3
Esc=581, Cit=604, APTS), the overall odds ratio for Remission (log odds ratio) MADRS: Esc vs. Cit
remission was 1.86 (95 % CI 1.46–2.36, p<0.0001). The
Fig. 3. Estimated difference in remission rates at week 8
remission rates were 61.6 % for escitalopram and
(or last assessment if <8 wk) (Esc – Cit) with 95 % confidence
44.0 % for citalopram, a difference (Esc – Cit) of 17.6
intervals. Esc, Escitalopram ; Cit, citalopram. Remission is
percentage points (95 % CI 12.1–23.1). The corre-
defined as the percentage of patients with MADRS score of
sponding NNT for remission was 5.7 (95 % CI 4.3–8.3, f12. * The naturalistic study of Lançon et al. (2006) and
p<0.0001). The differences in remission rates (in per- those of Lalit et al. (2004) and Li et al. (2006) that used only
centage points) for each study are shown in Fig. 3. the HAMD17 are not included in the calculation of the
overall mean.

Discussion
This meta-analysis of all the publicly available statistically significant efficacy advantage of escitalo-
data indicates that escitalopram has superior efficacy pram over citalopram.
compared to citalopram in the treatment of MDD in However, a statistically significant difference be-
a patient population including both moderate and se- tween two treatments may not reflect clinical benefits
vere disorder. It includes all available studies in MDD that are evident or relevant when treating individual
that included escitalopram and citalopram treatment patients. Separate tests are usually applied to the
arms (head-to-head, with an active control, or placebo- data to test if statistical differences are likely to have
controlled) and provides further evidence for a clinical relevance. There are several approaches to
266 S. A. Montgomery et al.

determining clinical relevance. In regulatory terms the difference observed between placebo and citalopram.
most important are the responder analysis, the remit- On the basis of an analysis of the positive anti-
ter analysis and the treatment effect (the difference depressant studies submitted to the FDA, Kirsch et al.
between two treatments in the improvement from (2002) reported that a difference of around 2 points on
baseline to endpoint on a standard assessment scale) HAMD17 between drug and placebo had been suf-
(EMEA, 2002). ficient for regulatory approval. In the case of citalo-
The criteria used to establish a clinically relevant pram this difference was 1.9 points on HAMD17. The
difference have almost all been focused on a compari- difference between escitalopram and placebo on the
son of drug and placebo. Comparing differences MADRS was found to be 1.9 overall and 2.1 points in
between two active treatments applying the same cri- severe depression in the regulatory studies of escita-
terion used to define a clinically relevant difference on lopram (Gorman et al. 2002) which indicates that the
the pivotal scale between active drug and placebo is difference of around 2 points would be considered
very stringent, since this means that the difference to clinically relevant for both the MADRS and HAMD17.
placebo of the superior treatment must be at least In a more recent meta-analysis of placebo controlled
twice that of the comparator antidepressant. However, studies for all antidepressants, including a range
50 % of the difference between active drug and placebo of other non-regulatory studies, the reported differ-
has also been used as a criterion to indicate probable ence on HAMD17 was 1.8 (Kirsch et al. 2008). Since
clinical relevance when comparing two established the present analysis included a wide range of non-

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treatments (Montgomery & Möller, 2009). regulatory studies, a 1.8-point difference between
The studies included in the present meta-analysis antidepressant and placebo should be regarded as
included large regulatory studies sponsored by clinically relevant for this wider population. It could
H. Lundbeck A/S or Forest Inc., conducted mainly therefore be concluded that this difference is clinically
in Caucasian patients, together with smaller, shorter relevant. Since the treatment difference between escit-
studies in different populations, for example in India alopram and citalopram was 1.7 points, this is also
(Lalit et al. 2004) and China (Li et al. 2006). Even if no clinically relevant.
robust conclusions can be drawn from these smaller The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) normally
studies individually, the results are consistent with uses a responder analysis to determine whether a
those from the larger trials. statistically significant difference is also clinically
The naturalistic study of Lançon et al. (2006), which relevant. A statistically significant advantage on the
was also small, has the methodological problems responder analysis in favour of an antidepressant
inherent with this sort of study design that com- compared with placebo is normally considered by the
plicate the conclusions that can be drawn from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use
study. This is an effectiveness study with an open non- (CMPH) to be clinically relevant (EMEA, 2002). In a
randomized design and the bias of the investigator in review of placebo-controlled antidepressant studies
the choice of treatment and assessment might have submitted for regulatory approval over a 25-year per-
influenced the result. There is some evidence of poss- iod, Melander et al. (2008) report a mean difference
ible investigator bias in the allocation of patients to in the percentage of HAMD17 responders to placebo of
different treatments, since the escitalopram group 16 percentage points (95 % CI 12.0–20.0). The present
were significantly more severely depressed at baseline analysis of two antidepressants shows a response
than those on citalopram. This might have been a advantage of 8.3 percentage points, and a remission
chance finding but it might also reflect the clinical rate advantage of 17.6 percentage points in favour of
view, which was already current, that escitalopram escitalopram vs. citalopram. These differences trans-
was a more effective treatment in severe depression. late into NNTs of approximately 12 for response and
All effectiveness studies are open to these sorts of six for remission.
biases. Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness, the An elegant analysis was carried out by Lam &
study was included (Anderson, 2008), but was ex- Andersen (2006), in which the placebo-controlled data
cluded from the meta-analysis of the randomised on citalopram and escitalopram from the same studies
controlled studies. were compared. The treatment effect for citalopram
The overall treatment difference between escitalo- compared to placebo was constant with increasing
pram and citalopram was 1.7 points in favour of esci- baseline severity measured on the MADRS, but the
talopram on the MADRS scale, which was statistically effect increased for escitalopram. The advantage for
significant (p<0.0001). A direct measure of the clini- escitalopram over citalopram became greater and was
cally relevant difference may be taken from the more strikingly clinically relevant in treating patients
Efficacy of escitalopram compared to citalopram 267

with increasing severity of depression. These data Colonna L, Andersen HF, Reines EH (2005). A randomised,
confirm that escitalopram has different properties as double-blind, 24-week study of escitalopram (10 mg/day)
an antidepressant compared to citalopram. versus citalopram (20 mg/day) in primary care patients
Based on treatment difference, and NNTs derived with major depressive disorder. Current Medical Research
and Opinion 21, 1659–1668.
from response and remission rates, the statistically
EMEA (2002). Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products
significant superiority of escitalopram vs. citalopram
(CPMP). Note for guidance on clinical investigation of
can be considered as clinically relevant. medicinal products in the treatment of depression. CPMP/
EWP/518/97, Rev. 1. European Medicines Agency.
Forest Laboratories (2005). http://www.forestclinicaltrials.
Acknowledgements
com/CTR/CTRController/CTRViewPdf?_file_id=scsr/
The authors thank D. J. Simpson (H. Lundbeck A/S) SCSR_SCT-MD-02_final.pdf (not peer-reviewed).
for technical assistance in the preparation of the Accessed 4 January 2010.
manuscript. The authors are entirely responsible for Gorman J, Korotzer A, Su G (2002). Efficacy comparison of
the scientific content of this article. escitalopram and citalopram in the treatment of major
depressive disorder : pooled analysis of placebo-controlled
trials. CNS Spectrums 7 (Suppl. 1), 40–44.
Statement of Interest
Hamilton MA (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal
Thomas Hansen is an employee of H. Lundbeck A/S. of Neurological and Neurosurgical Psychiatry 23, 56–62.
Stuart Montgomery has received consulting fees or Hedges LV, Olkin I (1985). Statistical Methods for

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