Oral esketamine for patients with severe treatment-resistant depression: Effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of a six-week open-label treatment program.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Oral esketamine for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) could offer certain advantages over other routes, such as intravenous or intranasal, but it has not been systematically studied in a real-world setting.

Aims

Here we present results from a relatively large naturalistic study to evaluate the effectiveness, tolerability, and safety of oral esketamine in patients with TRD.

Methods

One hundred eighty-five adults with severe TRD (average of 8.1 antidepressant trials plus electroconvulsive therapy in 63% without beneficial outcome) received oral esketamine treatment twice-weekly for 6 weeks with individually titrated doses ranging from 0.5 to 3 mg/kg. Outcome measures included change from baseline to week 6 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Sc

SUBMITTER: Veraart JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12205164 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature