The addition of fluoxetine to cognitive behavioural therapy for youth depression (YoDA-C): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre clinical trial

Publication date: Available online 29 July 2019Source: The Lancet PsychiatryAuthor(s): Christopher G Davey, Andrew M Chanen, Sarah E Hetrick, Sue M Cotton, Aswin Ratheesh, Günter P Amminger, John Koutsogiannis, Mark Phelan, Edward Mullen, Ben J Harrison, Simon Rice, Alexendra G Parker, Olivia M Dean, Amber Weller, Melissa Kerr, Amelia L Quinn, Lisa Catania, Nikolaos Kazantzis, Patrick D McGorry, Michael BerkSummaryBackgroundMedication is commonly used to treat youth depression, but whether medication should be added to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as first-line treatment is unclear. We aimed to examine whether combined treatment with CBT and fluoxetine was more effective than CBT and placebo in youth with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder.MethodsThe Youth Depression Alleviation–Combined Treatment (YoDA-C) trial was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre clinical trial. Participants were aged 15–25 years with moderate-to-severe MDD and had sought care at one of four clinical centres in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive CBT for 12 weeks, plus either fluoxetine or placebo. Participants began on one 20 mg capsule of fluoxetine or one placebo pill per day. All participants received CBT, delivered by therapists in weekly 50-minute sessions and attended interviews at baseline, and at weeks 4, 8, and 12, during which they completed assessments with research assistants. Participants saw a psy...
Source: The Lancet Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research