Methods	6 week randomised double blind study
Participants	Diagnosis: DSM-IV major depressive disorder Setting: In- and outpatients
Interventions	1. Mirtazapine: 30 mg/day, N = 18 2. Fluoxetine: 20 mg/day, N = 18 Fixed dosing scheduling
Outcomes	The measure used for response and remission in the review: 17-item HAM-D Other measures: None
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors’ judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Quote: “randomised” Comment: No further information provided.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Comment: The method of concealment is not described.
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Quote: “double-blind” Comment: No further information provided.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Less than 20% of the participants dropped out and missing outcome data are balanced in numbers across intervention groups, with similar reasons of missing data across groups
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	Both the response and the remission outcomes are reported in the figures with the actual numbers of the participants who achieved these
Free of Sponsorship bias?	Unclear risk	The funding source is not described.