Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:1153-1156
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
DST results in nonpsychotic depressed outpatients
A Khan, F Johnson, DH Avery, S Cohen, B Scherzo and DL Dunner
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
In two studies using the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) to evaluate
the efficacy of newer antidepressants in depressed outpatients, the authors
found a DST nonsuppression rate of 13% (11 of 86 patients). Thirty-three of
the DST suppressors received an antidepressant and 42 received placebo; the
drug-treated group showed a significant therapeutic response. The low rate
of DST nonsuppression in these depressed outpatients, a finding consistent
with that of other investigators, does not confirm or refute reports that
these patients are relatively resistant to placebo in comparison with
active medication. The authors recommend that DST results not be used as
selection criteria in studies assessing newer therapies for depressed
outpatients.
