0600B 428.

Methods	A multicentre, double‐blind, randomised study.
Participants	Patients who had symptoms of major depression meeting DSM‐IV criteria for at least 2 weeks.
Interventions	Paroxetine: 56 participants. Venlafaxine XR: 58 participants. Paroxetine dose: 20 mg/day. Venlafaxine dose: 75 mg/day.
Outcomes	Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Hamilton rating scale for depression (HDRS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI). Total dropout, dropout due to side effects.
Notes	Funding: venlafaxine manufacturer.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Quote: "randomized". No further details.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	No information provided.
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Quote: "double blind". No further details.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Quote: "double blind". No further details.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No information on data analysis and patients missed during the follow‐up.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	Baseline characteristics and outcomes data not clearly reported.
Other bias	Unclear risk	Sponsorship bias cannot be ruled out.