Title
Measurement-Based Care Versus Standard Care for Major Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Blind Raters
Publication Date
2015
Journal Title
Am J Psychiatry
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The authors compared measurement-based care with standard treatment in major depression. METHODS: Outpatients with moderate to severe major depression were consecutively randomized to 24 weeks of either measurement-based care (guideline- and rating scale-based decisions; N=61), or standard treatment (clinicians' choice decisions; N=59). Pharmacotherapy was restricted to paroxetine (20-60 mg/day) or mirtazapine (15-45 mg/day) in both groups. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report (QIDS-SR). Time to response (a decrease of at least 50% in HAM-D score) and remission (a HAM-D score of 7 or less) were the primary endpoints. Outcomes were evaluated by raters blind to study protocol and treatment. RESULTS: Significantly more patients in the measurement-based care group than in the standard treatment group achieved response (86.9% compared with 62.7%) and remission (73.8% compared with 28.8%). Similarly, time to response and remission were significantly shorter with measurement-based care (for response, 5.6 weeks compared with 11.6 weeks, and for remission, 10.2 weeks compared with 19.2 weeks). HAM-D scores decreased significantly in both groups, but the reduction was significantly larger for the measurement-based care group (-17.8 compared with -13.6). The measurement-based care group had significantly more treatment adjustments (44 compared with 23) and higher antidepressant dosages from week 2 to week 24. Rates of study discontinuation, adverse effects, and concomitant medications did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of measurement-based care for outpatients with moderate to severe major depression, suggesting that this approach can be incorporated in the clinical care of patients with major depression.
Volume Number
172
Issue Number
10
Pages
1004-13
Document Type
Article
EPub Date
2015/09/01
Status
Faculty
Facility
School of Medicine
Primary Department
Psychiatry
Additional Departments
Molecular Medicine
PMID
DOI
10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14050652