Guo 2009.

Study characteristics
Methods	Parallel group, 3‐arm trial, comparing sertraline plus routine care versus routine care versus acupuncture plus routine care. We are using the sertraline plus routine care versus routine care in this review Aim: to treat depression Analysis: according to allocated treatment
Participants	Country: China Setting: unknown Stroke criteria: first ever stroke, clinical diagnosis plus relevant lesion on imaging, age ≥ 60 years old Depression criteria: HAMD score ≥ 8, no depression prior to stroke Treatment: 40 people, mean age 67.6 ± 12.43 years, 23 men Control: 40 people, mean age 64.5 ± 12.07 years, 22 men Exclusions: psychiatric disorders or family psychiatric disorders, severe cognitive impairment, global aphasia, sensory aphasia, apraxia, severe cardiac, hepatic, renal, lung or other severe somatic disorder, consciousness disturbance, severe deafness, family or patient unable to comply
Interventions	Treatment: sertraline 50 mg daily plus stroke care (acute, secondary prevention, rehabilitation and psychotherapy) Control: stroke care (acute, secondary prevention, rehabilitation and psychotherapy) Duration of treatment: 6 weeks Duration of follow‐up: (treatment end to study end): 6 months
Outcomes	HAMD NIHSS FIM (reported cognition and mobility scores only) SF‐36 AEs not reported
Funding source	Funded by a local scientific academic fund
Notes	−
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Random‐number table
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not described
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	High risk	No placebo
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Outcome assessor blind
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No dropouts, analysed by allocated treatment
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No protocol
Other bias	Low risk	No obvious risk, balance baseline