Efficacy and Safety of Vilazodone treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A 3390 patients' meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Abstract

Abstract Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a global health condition related to mental and physical consequences, functional impairment, and medical expenses. A wide range of antidepressant drugs could be prescribed for MDD patients. In this study, we aim to investigate the efficacy and safety of Vilazodone treatment for relieving MDD symptoms upon valid scores. Methods Five databases were searched for literature search and seven included randomized clinical trials were finally meta-analyzed. All data were presented either as a mean difference (MD) in pooling continuous outcomes or risk ratio (RR) in pooling dichotomous outcomes with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results We included 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a total number of 3804 patients; 3390 of them were eligible to be pooled in our analysis. Patients' ages ranged from 13 to 42.4 years. vilazodone was given orally once a day with different doses throughout the included trials ranging from 10 to 40 mg for the duration of 8 to 12 weeks. The results significantly favored vilazodone over the placebo regarding the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) (MD =-4.69, 95% CI: [-6.83, -2.55], P < 0.0001), Clinical Global Impression (CGI) severity (MD=-0.29, 95% CI: [-0.41, -0.17], P < 0.00001), and CGI improvement (MD =-0.36, 95% CI: [-0.44, -0.28], P < 0.00001). The pooled effect size significantly favored Vilazodone in terms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, somnolence, dry mouth, insomnia, and dizziness compared to controls. Conclusion Vilazodone treatment is an effective, well-tolerated, and safe drug for MDD patients in terms of multiple outcomes.