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Problems in the Descriptions of the Psychiatric Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria in Publications of Antidepressant Efficacy Trials: A Qualitative Review and Recommendations for Improved Clarity

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Abstract

We recently conducted a comprehensive review of the psychiatric inclusion and exclusion criteria used in 170 placebo-controlled antidepressant efficacy trials (AETs) that were published between 1995 and 2014. In conducting this literature review, we identified a number of instances in which the descriptions of the inclusion/exclusion criteria were vague, redundant, or difficult to interpret. In the present article, we describe nine problems we encountered in our literature review. We recommend that future publications follow the examples found in a few studies in which the inclusion/exclusion criteria are clearly defined and listed in a table.

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Correspondence to Mark Zimmerman.

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M. Zimmerman has served on advisory boards for F Hoffmann-La Roche, Genentech, and Lundbeck; has received research support from Azevan and Eli Lilly; and has prepared educational material for Otsuka. Matthew Multach, Emily Walsh, Lia K. Rosenstein, Douglas Gazarian, and Heather L. Clark have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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Zimmerman, M., Multach, M., Walsh, E. et al. Problems in the Descriptions of the Psychiatric Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria in Publications of Antidepressant Efficacy Trials: A Qualitative Review and Recommendations for Improved Clarity. CNS Drugs 30, 185–191 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-016-0314-y

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