Clinical controlled study of high-frequency repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with sertraline in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents / 四川精神卫生

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation （rTMS） combined with sertraline in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents. MethodsFrom November 2019 to May 2020， a sample of 107 children and adolescents who met the diagnostic criteria of International Classification of Diseases， tenth edition （ICD-10 ） for depressive episode were selected from the Third People's Hospital of Tianshui. According to the method of random number table， individuals were classified into study group（n=53） and control group（n=54）. All subjects received sertraline treatment， based on this， study group received high-frequency rTMS （10 Hz）. Treatment in both groups lasted for 4 weeks. Efficacy was assessed using Hamilton Depression Scale-24 item （HAMD-24） at the baseline， and the end of the 1st， 2nd， 3rd and 4th weeks of treatment， and adverse reactions were evaluated via Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale （TESS） at the 1st， 2nd， 3rd and 4th weekend of treatment. ResultsThere were 50 participants in both the study group and control group. The HAMD-24 score of study group were lower than those of control group at the end of 1st， 2nd， 3rd and 4th weeks of treatment （t=2.556~3.434， P<0.05）. The overall efficacy rate at the 4th week of treatment was 90.00% in study group， which was significantly higher than 78.00% in control group （χ2=2.680， P<0.05）. The adverse reaction rate yielded no statistical difference between study group and control group （30.00% vs. 26.00%， χ2=0.200， P>0.05）. ConclusionCompared with sertraline treatment alone， its combination with high-frequency rTMS achieves better outcomes in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents， without compromising safety.