A surveillance study of escitalopram treatment of depressed patients

Aim: The aim of this surveillance study was to assess the tolerability of, and response to, treatment with escitalopram in 525 psychiatric out-patient clinics in the Czech Republic. Methods: Clinical response was evaluated using the Zung Depression Rating Scale (ZDRS) and the Clinical Impressions - Improvement (CGI-I) scale. The change from baseline in the ZDRS, Clinical Impressions - Severity of Illness (CGI-S) and CGI-I scores were analysed for each visit (baseline, weeks 1 - 2, 4, 8 and 26). Results: There were 2664 patients included, with 2126 patients (79.8%) completing the 6-month treatment. During the course of the study, the patients showed an improvement in their severity of depression, with a response rate (CGI-I <= 2) of 86.7% and a remission rate (CGI-S <= 2) of 80.6% for patients completing 6 months of treatment. The most frequent adverse events were nausea (5.5%), headache (2.1%) and sweating (2.0%). Discontinuation due to adverse events occurred in 170 patients (6.4%) and 3.7% of patients withdrew from the study because of non-response and/or worsening of psychopathology. There were no significant differences between baseline and final visit in mean body mass index for men or women. Conclusion: In this large surveillance study, escitalopram was well tolerated by a heterogeneous group of patients, whose depressive symptoms responded to <= 6 months of treatment.