Comparing the effects of antidepressants: consensus guidelines for evaluating quantitative reviews of antidepressant efficacy.
With increasing numbers of treatment options available for patients with major depression over the last decade and the growing body of evidence describing their efficacy and safety, clinicians often find it difficult to determine the best and most appropriate evidence-based treatment for each patient. Systematic reviews utilizing statistical methods that synthesize and evaluate data from a number of studies have become increasingly more available over the past decade. We review major findings and lessons learned from salient examples of quantitative analyses of antidepressant research and provide recommendations for meta-analysts, journal and grant reviewers, and research 'consumers' (ie, clinicians) for conducting, reporting, and evaluating such analyses.
Lieberman
Jeffery A
JA
Department of Psychiatry, Neurosciences Hospital, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7160, USA. jlieberman@unc.edu
Greenhouse
Joel
J
Hamer
Robert M
RM
Krishnan
K Ranga
KR
Nemeroff
Charles B
CB
Sheehan
David V
DV
Thase
Michael E
ME
Keller
Martin B
MB
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D000928:Antidepressive Agents