Recommendations for selection and adaptation of rating scales for clinical studies of rapid-acting antidepressants.
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2023 Christian Yavorsky, Elizabeth Ballard, Mark Opler et al. 7 citations
Rapid acting antidepressants (RAADs), including ketamine and its derivatives along with GABA receptor modulators, can produce mood improvements within hours or days rather than weeks. There is also renewed interest in psychedelic compounds affecting multiple receptor sites. However, the rating instruments used to measure antidepressant response, such as the Hamilton and Montgomery-Åsberg depression rating scales, were designed decades ago for older drugs and assess symptoms over a seven-day timeframe. This review describes adaptations made to these existing scales for use with RAADs, including modifications for items like sleep and appetite that cannot be assessed in short time frames, and examines additional domains such as daily activities, side effects, suicidal ideation, and role functioning. Recommendations for future studies and implementation challenges are discussed.