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Brand name: Escitalopram (AN) TM
Active ingredients: escitalopram
What it is used for
Treatment of major depression.
How to take it
The way to take this medicine is: Oral. This medicine is taken by mouth.
- Store below 25 degrees Celsius
- Store in a Dry Place
- Shelf lifetime is 48 Months.
You should seek medical advice in relation to medicines and use only as directed by a healthcare professional.
Always read the label. If symptoms persist see your healthcare professional.
Visual appearance
White to off-white oval biconvex film-coated tablets with break-line on one side and plain on the other side, having approximate dimensions, length about 8.0mm and width about 5.5mm
Images are the copyright of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Food interactions
For the active ingredient escitalopram
- Take without regard to meals.
Do I need a prescription?
This medicine is available from a pharmacist and requires a prescription. It is
Is this medicine subsidised?
This medicine was verified as being available on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) on February 1, 2019. To learn more about this subsidy, visit the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) website.
Pregnant or planning a pregnancy?
For the active ingredient escitalopram
You should seek advice from your doctor or pharmacist about taking this medicine. They can help you balance the risks and the benefits of this medicine during pregnancy.
Reporting side effects
You can help ensure medicines are safe by reporting the side effects you experience.
You can report side effects to your doctor, or directly at www.tga.gov.au/reporting-problems
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Although pharmacological and psychological interventions are both effective for major depression, antidepressant drugs remain the mainstay of treatment in moderate to severe major depression. During the last 20 years, newer compounds (such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and dual action agents such as serotonin noradrenalin reuptake inhibitors) have progressively become the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. Duloxetine hydrochloride, one of the most recent antidepressants introduced in the market, is a selective serotonin noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor for oral administration. In the present review we assessed the evidence for the efficacy, acceptability and tolerability of duloxetine in comparison with all other antidepressants in the acute-phase treatment of major depression. Sixteen randomised controlled trials (5735 participants) were included. Duloxetine was not more effective than some other new antidepressant agents in the acute-phase treatment of major depression, and it was less well tolerated than escitalopram and venlafaxine as more patients allocated to duloxetine withdrew treatment before study end. However, due to the limited number of studies per comparison these results should be interpreted with caution.
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Citalopram versus other antidepressants for depression | Cochrane
Major depression is a severe mental illness characterised by a persistent and unreactive low mood and loss of all interest and pleasure, usually accompanied by a range of symptoms including appetite change, sleep disturbance, fatigue, loss of energy, poor concentration, psychomotor symptoms, inappropriate guilt and morbid thoughts of death. Antidepressant drugs remain the mainstay of treatment in moderate-to-severe major depression. During the last 20 years, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have progressively become the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. Citalopram, one of the first SSRIs introduced in the market, is the racemic mixture of S- and R-enantiomer. In the present review we assessed the evidence for the efficacy, acceptability and tolerability of citalopram in comparison with all other antidepressants in the acute-phase treatment of major depression. Thirty-seven randomised controlled trials (more than 6000 participants) were included in the present review. In terms of efficacy, citalopram was more efficacious than other reference compounds like paroxetine or reboxetine, but worse than escitalopram. In terms of side effects, citalopram was more acceptable than older antidepressants, like tricyclics. Based on these findings, we conclude that clinicians should focus on practical or clinically relevant considerations including differences in efficacy and side-effect profiles.
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