Adding PCT to continued antidepressants also reduced the risk of recurrence (0.59, 0.38 to 0.94).
A related editorial discusses this research. The likelihood of depressive symptoms returning during maintenance antidepressant treatment increases with the duration of treatment. Attempts to overcome this loss of efficacy, with augmentation or switching strategies, might actually propel the illness to a more malignant and treatment unresponsive course. Therefore, alternative strategies to maintenance treatment need to be pursued and tested. The sequential model demonstrated here if done with drug discontinuation, might limit the use of antidepressants to the shortest possible time, reducing the likelihood of tolerance and serious side-effects (eg, weight gain, bleeding, and gastrointestinal toxicity)