Safety of SSRI Drug Fluoxetine Article Review

Summarizing a Research Article

Research Question

The research question for the article by Rossi, Barraco and Donda (2004) was based on the fact that there had been no review of the meta-analyses published on Fluoxetine. Fluoxetine is an important drug that was developed for and prescribed to patients with depression starting in the late 1980s. It is considered the first iteration of the generation of Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) commonly associated with youths suffering from mental health problems. However, though it has been widely studied, fluoxetine is still not completely understood. Thus, the authors of this study set out to answer the question: What do the available meta-analyses on this SSRI actually say? The objective of the systematic review of the literature was threefold:

1. to evaluate the strength of the information available in reviewed meta-analyses

2. to understand if the use of fluoxetine is clinically effective and safe compared with previously available drugs

3. to point out the drug's current role in the treatment of diseases where fluoxetine is indicated (Rossi et al., 2004, p. 2).

In short, the authors intended to evaluate whether previous information published on the drug is accurate and reliable; to see if the compile information shows that the drug is safe relative to drugs that had hit the market before; and to see what the use the drug offers in treatments today.

Hypothesis Tested

The authors did not clearly identify a hypothesis that they were testing. However, they did state that upon reviewing the literature on fluoxetine’s effect on treating depression that all the studies confirmed the hypothesis that the drug is more effective at treating depression when given at the lower common dosage of 20 mg/die than at higher dosages (Rossi et al., 2004). Oddly, however, there is…

Some parts of this document are missing

Click here to view full document

…was dry mouth. Other side effects of the drug disappeared after two weeks. The authors used this information to conclude that fluoxetine was better than other drugs on the market.

Key Implications

Based on the findings of the meta-analysis, the authors imply that fluoxetine is effective at treating depression and is safer than other drugs when it comes to the issue of overdosage. However, the researchers found that the most effective dosage, based on the literature, was the lower one at 20 mg/die. This means that in order to provide the best pharmacological intervention for depressed patients, the dosage should be capped there except for cases in which more is justified.

Conclusion

The study by Rossi et al. (2004) was a qualitative meta-analysis literature review of prior meta-analyses conducted on the drug fluoxetine when comparing its usefulness to a placebo or to other drugs. The analysis found that fluoxetine…