title: Predictors of functional response and remission with desvenlafaxine 50 mg/d in patients with major depressive disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The predictive value of early functional improvement for treatment success at week 8 was assessed in a pooled analysis in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were pooled from 7 double-blind studies in adult patients with MDD randomly assigned to desvenlafaxine 50 mg/d or placebo. Four levels of treatment success were determined at week 8 for patients with baseline Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) score > 12 (N = 2156): functional response (SDS ≤12 and ≥50% improvement in SDS), functional/depression response (SDS ≤12 and ≥50% improvement in both SDS and 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression [HAM-D17] score), functional remission (SDS < 7), and functional/depression remission (SDS < 7 and HAM-D17 ≤7). Week 2 improvement in SDS was evaluated as a predictor of later functional response/remission using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) of the predictability of improvement thresholds were computed from a logistic regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of patients achieving each level of treatment success was significantly greater for patients treated with desvenlafaxine (40%, 32%, 23%, 15%, respectively) vs placebo (31%, 22%, 17%, 10%; all P ≤ 0.002). Early change in SDS was a highly significant predictor of functional response/remission (ORs, 0.958-0.970; all P < 0.0001). Discussion Patients' early functional response to desvenlafaxine 50 mg/d is predictive of treatment success.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences,McMaster University & St. Joseph's Healthcare,Hamilton,Ontario,Canada.
authors.forename: Claudio N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Psychiatry,Columbia University,New York,New York,USA.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Endicott
authors.affiliation: 3Medical Affairs,Pfizer CanadaInc,Kirkland,Quebec,Canada.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boucher
authors.affiliation: 4Department of Statistics,PfizerInc,New York,New York,USA.
authors.forename: Rana S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Fayyad
authors.affiliation: 5Medical Affairs,Pfizer Inc,Collegeville,Pennsylvania,USA.
authors.forename: Christine J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Guico-Pabia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003511:Cyclohexanols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000069468:Desvenlafaxine Succinate; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D003511:Cyclohexanols; D000069468:Desvenlafaxine Succinate