Methods	Six-week double-blind, randomised study.
Participants	Inpatients fulfilling DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive episode, with a score of at least 20 on the HDRS-21. Age range: 18-70 years. Exclusion criteria: psychosis, organic mental disorder, substance abuse active within 1 year
Interventions	Fluoxetine: 56 participants. Imipramine: 62 participants. Fluoxetine dose range: 40-80 mg/day. Imipramine dose range: 150-300 mg/day. Chloral hydrate (max 1 g) and flurazepam (max 30 mg) were allowed as hypnotic
Outcomes	Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS-21), Raskin, Covi, Clinical Global Impression Severity and Improvement Scales
Notes	Response: decrease of at least 50% in the HAM-D total score. Remission: total score less than 7. One patient on fluoxetine committed suicide. Funding: by industry
Risk of bias
Item	Authors’ judgement	Description
Allocation concealment?	Unclear	B - Unclear