Reboxetine: a preliminary report on its use through the Special Access Program.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the effectiveness and tolerability of reboxetine under Special Access Program conditions in Canada in a group of patients with refractory depressive disorders.

DESIGN

Retrospective open-label study.

SETTING

Six clinical academic settings in Canada, primarily tertiary institutional settings.

PATIENTS

Twenty-six female and 19 male outpatients with depressive disorders, primarily unipolar depression. Most of the patients were treatment resistant.

INTERVENTION

Reboxetine through the Special Access Program.

OUTCOME MEASURE

Severity of depression before treatment with reboxetine was retrospectively assessed with the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Global Severity Scale; change with treatment was evaluated with the CGI Global Improvement Scale.

RESULTS

Before reboxetine treatment, 20 (44%) patients scored in the moderate CGI severity category, 11 (24%) in the marked category and 12 (27%) in the severe category. The dose range for reboxetine was 2-16 mg, with 40 (89%) patients in the 4-10 mg range. With reboxetine treatment, 25 (56%) patients were considered "very much improved" or "much improved"; 8 (18%) patients were "minimally improved"; 7 (16%) received ratings that reflected "no change" or minimal worsening, and 5 (11%) were rated as "much worse" or "very much worse."

CONCLUSIONS

Reboxetine was effective at a clinically meaningful level in decreasing severity of depression in 56% of patients. Given the high rate of prior resistance to other antidepressant therapies, there is a definite role for this agent in the treatment of depressive disorders.