My small effort to present an article with PPT presentation for learning purpose.
Color codes in the article PDF document:
1) Green for positive criticism
2) Red for negative criticism
3) Yellow for important points
3)
Critical Appraisal of a Journal Article on the Efficacy and Safety of Vilazodone in Major Depressive Disorder
1. Critical Appraisal of A Journal
Article
Dr. Shakeeb Dhorajiwala,
MBBS, MD. Pharmacology, DM 1st year resident- Department Of Clinical Pharmacology
Former Scientist B in project “Covishield”,
Presentation for: Dept. of Clinical Pharmacology, Seth GSMC & KEM hospital, Parel, Mumbai.
2. Link to the article
https://s.docworkspace.com/d/AAHGiCOfprJbqaG2_OedFA
• Disclaimer: For Educational Purpose only (non-commercial use)
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3. Introduction(1/5)
Major depressive disorder widespread debilitating illness.
Prevalence: 300 million1
High rate of :
• medical,
• psychiatric co-morbidity,
• functional impairment
• Personal and societal cost
F:M= 1.5:1
Leading cause of disability in both
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1. Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C,et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases
andinjuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2010. Lancet
2012;380:2197-223
3
5. Limitations of existing treatment(3/5)
TCAs SSRIs
• commonly prescribed too
• Lack of efficacy and tolerability non-
compliance
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6. Test Drug- Vilazodone(4/5)
less disruption of other neurotransmitter system.2
greater tolerability
high selectivity
high affinity for 5-HT receptor
5HT partial agonist reuptake= 5-HT reuptake inhibition + 5-HT1A partial agonism
MOA:
11-02-2021 2. Blier P, Ward NM. Is there a role for 5-HT1A agonists in the treatment of depression? Biol Psychiatry 2003;53:193-203. 6
7. Rationale for the study(5/5)
Efficacy at 40 mg/day in MDD proved2
Nearly half of patients diagnosed with MDD anxiety problem too
Residual anxiety increased risk of MDD relapse
Also proven efficacy in GAD, MDD and MDD with anxiety
Scarcity of studies done on Indian population
No direct head-to-head comparison of efficacy and tolerability
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GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder
2.Croft HA, Pomara N, Gommoll C, Chen D, Nunez R, Mathews M. Efficacy and safety of vilazodone in major depressive disorder: A
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Psychiatry 2014;75:e1291-8.
7
8. Methodology: Study Design(1/7)
Randomized, prospective, comparative, parallel-group, open-label
Period: February 2016 - October 2017
Site: Psychiatry OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital.
Approved by the IEC
in accordance with ICH-GCP guidelines and the ethical principles as mentioned in the DoH.
WIVC in vernacular language with detailed history and physical examinations done
11-02-2021 WIVC: written informed valid consent IEC: institutional ethics committee 8
9. Outcome Measure (2/7)
Efficacy:
• 1o : ΔHAMD-17 score from
baseline to wk 12
• >20 % improvement in first
2 weeks from baseline:
Clinically meaningful
• 2o: ΔMADRS and HAM-A
from baseline to wk 12
Safety:
• Modified Hartwig and Siegel
scale- AE severity
• Naranjo ADR Probability
Scale- Causality
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10. Cont’d(3/7)
f/u visits: 2, 4 and 12 weeks
Compliance was assessed by empty blister packets
Rescue management:
• i/c/o no response or worsening: withdrawal from study with
subsequent psychiatric care
No post-trial access
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11. Selection Criteria (4/7)
Inclusion
Newly diagnosed patients :MDD (DSM-5)
Either gender,
Aged :18 - 60 years
HAMD-17 score ≥22
Exclusion
Patients of :
• severe depression who may not respond to
pharmacotherapy
• on ECT within 3 months
• suffering from any other psychiatric disorders except
GAD;
• impaired renal/hepatic function;
• requiring other psychotropic/active medications, or
other systemic disorder;
• taken investigational drug or participated in an
investigational drug trial within past 30 days;
• Pregnant, lactating women and women of reproductive
age group
11-02-2021 HAMD-17: 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 11
13. Statistical Analysis (6/7)
sample size calculated based on change in HAMD score from baseline to week 12 and standard
deviation (SD) = 10.38 from previous studies,
α = 5% and 1-β= 80%.
required sample size : 20/ group with dropout rate of 20%,
Power and Sample Size Calculation software version 3.0.43
Categorical data: Chi-square test
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14. Statistics cont’d (7/7)
continuous variables: one-way ANOVA
1o and 2o efficacy parameters analyzed by Friedman test Dunn’s test: within-group comparison at
different follow-up visits
Kruskal–Wallis test Dunn’s test : between groups comparison.
P < 0.05 :statistically significant.
GraphPad Prism version 5.01 (GraphPad software Inc., California, USA) for analysis.
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15. Results(1/6)
N= 60 randomized and
allocated to 3 groups,
50 completed study as
per protocol
10 dropouts:
3 in amitriptyline group
(2-ADRs & 1-lack of
efficacy),
4 in escitalopram group
(1-ADRs,
1-lack of efficacy, 2 lost
to follow-up),
3 in vilazodone group (1-
ADRs and 2-lost to
follow-up).
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20. Safety evaluation (6/6)
Modified Hartwig
and Siegel scale:
for severity
assessment
Mild- level 1
Naranjo scale:
Probable
Constipation Sedation Nausea
Possible
Headache
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21. Discussion: Study findings(1/9)
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Finding no.1: significant
reduction in HAMD-17
and/or MADRS scores
compared to baseline at
4 weeks
Finding no.2: reduction in
scores at two weeks
significantly more than
amitriptyline but similar to
escitalopram.
Inference: at 2 weeks,
vilazodone more
efficacious than
amitriptyline.
Finding no.3: reduction in
HAMD-17 and MADRS
scores highest
compared to other two
groups at week 4 and
week 12,
Inference: vilazodone is
more efficacious than the
other two study drugs.
22. Cont’d (2/9)
Finding no. 4:
MADRS-sustained response
- MADRS score ≤12 for at
least the last two
consecutive visits
comparable with
escitalopram group
significantly higher than the
amitriptyline group at 12
weeks
Inference: treatment
benefits are maintained
beyond a single time point
Finding 5:
Reduction in HAM-A score
at 4th and 12 weeks
compared to baseline
Inference: beneficial effect
of vilazodone in anxiety.
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23. What other studies showed(3/9)
Vilazodone at 40 mg/day statistically significant decrease in HAMD-17 and/or MADRS scores
following 8-week treatment all placebo-controlled studies
Effects reported as early as 1 or 2 weeks
Studies supportive of sustained effect (4th finding)of vilazodone. However, effect compared only to
escitalopram.
Therapeutic effect of vilazodone in dose of 20 mg/40 mg/day in generalized anxiety disorder has
been demonstrated in double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials supporting 5th
finding.5
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5. Durgam S, Gommoll C, Forero G, Nunez R, Tang X, Mathews M, et al. Efficacy and safety of vilazodone in patients with generalized anxiety
disorder: A Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, flexible-dose trial. J Clin Psychiatry 2016;77:1687-94.
23
24. Justification for Dose Selection(4/9)
studies comparing
doses of 20 mg and
40 mg/day reported-
• statistically significant beneficial effects with 20 and
40mg
• no significant differences between the different
vilazodone doses.3
• One study even reported that dose of vilazodone above
20 mg/day did not yield additional benefit.4
• one study reported better tolerability with 20 mg dose3
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3. Mathews M, Gommoll C, Chen D, Nunez R, Khan A. Efficacy and safety of vilazodone 20 and 40mg in major depressive disorder: A randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 2015;30:67-74
4. Laughren TP, Gobburu J, Temple RJ, Unger EF, Bhattaram A, Dinh PV, et al. Vilazodone: Clinical basis for the US food and drug administration’s
24
26. Evaluation of Safety Profile (6/9)
Adverse effects with antidepressant drugs are common
negatively impact patient outcomes.
vilazodone (29.41%) and escitalopram (25%) groups comparable
amitriptyline group (52.94%) significantly higher
Intolerability to medication is one of the most common reasons of discontinuation of antidepressant
treatment.[29]
Constipation and sedation were major adverse events
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27. Cont’d (7/9)
Nausea and headache major adverse events in escitalopram and vilazodone
groups.
GI s/e of mild severity and transient.
Sexual dysfunction is a common adverse effect of SSRIs which are currently the
most commonly used antidepressants.[4]
Sexual dysfunction as a s/e reported by none.
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28. Limitations (8/9)
open-label study
small sample size restricts generalizability of study
results
Third, assessing adverse effects on sexual functions
difficult since they did not use any measurable criteria
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29. Conclusion (9/9)
Although results
of their study
show that
vilazodone is
more efficacious
antidepressant
compared to
escitalopram
and
amitriptyline:
• small sample size of this study does not allow
generalization of results
• High cost of vilazodone another hindrance
• Hence, they suggested that vilazodone be
considered as a treatment option in selected
group of MDD patients with coexisting anxiety not
responding satisfactorily to standard drugs.
• However, even this needs to be substantiated by
large-scale studies with larger sample size and
having an active comparator group.
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Editor's Notes
TCA: slow onset- upto 1 month
Only 2/3 improve and 1/3 remit