Criteria for early onset of action of an antidepressant from the clinical trial logistics point of view - methodological considerations

Several authors have recommended various criteria for investigating the early onset of action (EOA) of an antidepressant. In this article some of the criteria that are most often mentioned were reviewed, considering clinical study design and logistics of the trial. The advantages and disadvantages of individual criteria are listed. Despite the existence of many recommendations, only a very limited number of them originate from scientific sources such as large databases. Moreover, some of the recommendations need to be viewed as suggestions as they do not originate from experience and data analysis. Individuals designing clinical trials to investigate EOA are left to try out different approaches, which are far from being internationally accepted and regulated. Copyright © 1999 Whurr Publishers, Ltd.