The effect of esketamine in patients with treatment‐resistant depression with and without comorbid anxiety symptoms or disorder
Depression and Anxiety July 22, 2021 E. Daly, I. Turkoz, G. Salvadore et al.
Patients with treatment-resistant depression who also have anxiety tend to respond less well to antidepressants. This analysis of existing trial data examined whether adding esketamine to an antidepressant improves outcomes for such patients. Among those with comorbid anxiety, the combination of esketamine and an antidepressant led to greater improvement in depressive symptoms compared to an antidepressant alone. The benefit was also seen in patients without anxiety, though the difference was less pronounced. The results suggest that esketamine augmentation may be particularly helpful for treatment-resistant depression patients who also struggle with anxiety.