Onset of antidepressant effect of olanzapine and olanzapine/fluoxetine combination in bipolar depression

Objectives: The current analysis investigated the onset of antidepressant effect of olanzapine/fluoxetine combination. Methods: Data for these post hoc analyses were obtained from a clinical trial comparing olanzapine, placebo, and olanzapine/fluoxetine combination in bipolar depression (BD). Subjects were 833 patients with a DSM‐IV diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, depressed. The Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale measured depressive symptoms. Multiple analytic methods were applied, including traditional (mean differences) analysis, pattern analysis, survival analysis of sustained response, mixed‐effects regression, and area‐under‐the‐curve analysis. Results: Traditional analysis showed significantly greater improvement in depression scores at week 1 for olanzapine/fluoxetine combination versus placebo (−9.55 versus −5.08, p