Major Depressive Disorder
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) recommends 3 phases of treatment:
Acute phase (6-8 weeks)2
The goal is to achieve remission of symptoms.
- Patients were over 3 times more likely to experience relapse if they did not achieve remission3*
Continuation phase (16-20 weeks)2
The goal is to sustain remission—and prevent relapse.
- Patients were nearly 2 times more likely to relapse if they did not receive continuation-phase medication4†
Maintenance phase2
The goal is to prevent new episodes of depression. For some patients, ongoing maintenance-phase therapy is appropriate—duration varies depending on frequency and severity of prior major depressive episodes.
- Patients have a 90% risk of recurrence after 3 episodes of depression5
* Over a 15-month period.
† Over a 6-month period.
Interactive Map:
Phases of Treatment
Understanding the APA-recommended phases of treatment can help you improve outcomes for your patients. The goal of the acute phase of treatment is remission of symptoms.
Patients should move into the second phase of treatment—the continuation phase—only after achieving remission.
EFFEXOR®/EFFEXOR XR® Efficacy
EFFEXOR/EFFEXOR XR may help your patients with major depressive disorder reach their treatment goals of achieving remission and sustaining remission.2
In a 12-week study (acute phase) of adult outpatients with MDD, more than 50% of patients achieved remission with EFFEXOR XR (vs. 20% with placebo).6*
- Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial6
- 49% of patients had previously been treated with an antidepressant (for current or prior episode)6
- *A post-hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week study of adult patients with major depression was done to assess remission rates. Remission was defined as HAM-D17 ≤7. P<0.0001 EFFEXOR XR vs. placebo. Average daily dose was 111 mg for EFFEXOR XR.
In a 6-month continuation study of patients with MDD, 55% of patients treated with EFFEXOR XR were in remission at 6 months (vs. 35% with placebo).* The cumulative probability of continued relapse prevention was 72% with EFFEXOR XR vs. 48% with placebo.4
- A post-hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled relapse prevention study6
- Patients studied had a mean HAM-D21 total score of 24.5 at baseline4
- Average daily dose (double-blind period) was 177–191 mg for EFFEXOR XR4
- *P<0.001 EFFEXOR XR vs. placebo. Patients with DSM-IV® MDD who responded to an 8-week course of EFFEXOR XR (CGI-S ≤3 and HAM-D21 ≤10) were randomly assigned to receive EFFEXOR XR (75–225 mg/day) or placebo for 6 months. The main efficacy outcome measure was relapse of depression. A post-hoc analysis of remission rates at 6 months was conducted. Remission was defined as HAM-D17 ≤7.
Significant Improvement in Anxious and Somatic Symptoms
In this pooled analysis, patients treated with EFFEXOR/EFFEXOR XR achieved improvement in anxious and somatic symptoms of depression compared to placebo as early as week 2.6
Symptoms include1:
- Worry
- Tension
- Irritability
- Headache
- Backache
- Loss of energy
- A pooled analysis of 22 depression trials (N=5,071) in patients treated with EFFEXOR or EFFEXOR XR6
- The anxiety/somatization factor included the following HAM-D21 items: 10 (anxiety–psychic), 11 (anxiety–somatic), 12 (somatic–GI), 13 (somatic–general), 15 (hypochondriasis), and 17 (insight)6
- P<0.001 vs. placebo beginning at week 2. Average daily dose was 148.8 mg. Last-observation-carried-forward (LOCF) analysis6
Guidelines for Treatment
Use these resources to review the guidelines and goals for the treatment of depression, including the goals of the acute phase.
Assessment Tools for Depression
Standard tools to help assess symptoms of depression in your patients.
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