An outpatient evaluation of phenelzine and imipramine.

Phenelzine and imipramine were evaluated in a 5-week double-blind study of outpatients with major depression. Median daily doses of phenelzine 75 mg and imipramine 150 mg were employed. Of 27 patients 26 completed the 5-week study. Both drugs produced an equal overall effect, as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). When patients were grouped on the basis of panic attack symptoms, phenelzine was found to be more effective than imipramine (p less than .05 for all patients on the BDI; p less than .05 for women on both rating scales).