The efficacy and safety of adding celecoxib to escitalopram for improving symptoms of major depressive disorder.

There is growing evidence that adding non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to some psychopharmacological treatments may help to improve symptoms in patients suffering from major depressive disorder. The present study examined the therapeutic efficacy of adding celecoxib to Ecitalopram and the safety of doing so. In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, 60 patients with major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to either treatment with Ecitalopram plus celecoxib (intervention group) or Ecitalopram and placebo. All patients were evaluated blind to treatment group with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) before the intervention as well at 4 and 8 weeks after initiating treatment. Chi-square and paired There was no significant difference in depressive symptoms between intervention and placebo groups at baseline. However, at 4 and 8 weeks after the beginning of treatment, there were significant between-group differences in HDRS scores, favoring the intervention group. No between-group differences were found in treatment-related side effects. Adding celecoxib to Ecitalopram may effectively improve symptoms of depression in patients suffering major depressive disorder without increasing the risk of drug-related side effects.

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.