Sertraline as Monotherapy in the Treatment of Psychotic and Nonpsychotic Depression

Background: Previous studies suggest that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective when used alone in the treatment of unipolar depression with psychotic features. The purpose of the present study was to examine the response to sertraline for patients with and without psychotic features using standard criteria such as recovery and remission.

Method: An 8-week open-label trial of sertraline in depressed inpatients was conducted. Twenty-five subjects had DSM-IV major depressive disorder with psychotic features, and 25 had DSM-IV major depressive disorder without psychotic features. After a 1-week open washout, all subjects were rated using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at baseline. The HAM-D was administered weekly, and the BPRS was administered again only at the end of the 8-week trial. Medication dosage was started at 50 mg/day, increased to 100 mg/day after 1 week, and then increased up to 200 mg/day if subjects had not remitted.

Results: Depressed patients without psychosis responded significantly better than did depressed patients with psychosis using the criteria of remission (HAM-D score <= 7; p = .001), response (HAM-D score = 15; p = .011), or change in HAM-D scores (p = .016). Baseline HAM-D score and psychosis independently predicted response, whereas baseline BPRS scores did not, regardless of whether psychotic status was entered into the analyses.

Conclusion: Psychotic depression responds more poorly than depression without psychosis to sertraline alone. Psychosis was a predictor of response independent of degree of depression and general psychopathology. Limitations due to an open-label design are discussed, as are differences between this study and others using SSRIs for psychotic depression.