Patient compliance to a new enteric-coated weekly formulation of fluoxetine during continuation treatment of major depressive disorder

Background: A new formulation of enteric-coated fluoxetine given once weekly could be a useful option for the long-term treatment of depression, but compliance to once-weekly fluoxetine treatment has not been assessed. Method: Patients were adults from the United Kingdom who had responded to fluoxetine treatment for a current episode of depression (DSM-IV criteria). In the baseline assessment phase, all patients (N = 117)were continued on 20 mg of open-label fluoxetine once daily for 4 weeks. In the follow-up phase, patients (N = 109) were randomly assigned to once-weekly or once-daily fluoxetine for 3 months. Patient compliance was monitored by electronic devices during both phases of the study. Results: Compliance to once-weekly fluoxetine treatment was higher than compliance to once-daily fluoxetine (85.9% vs. 79.4%, respectively). Conclusion: Once-weekly fluoxetine treatment: allows for new flexibility fur both the clinician and the patient, and this study alleviates the concern that patients will forget weekly doses.