Shock therapy vs. pills: which depression treatment wins on cost?
NCT ID NCT05306184
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at two treatments for severe depression: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and antidepressant medication. Researchers want to see which one works better and is more cost-effective in the long run. The study involves 220 adults in the Netherlands who have not gotten better with at least one antidepressant trial.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 220 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2022
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
110 patients (\>18 yrs.) with a depressive episode (unipolar MDD) who will start ECT and 110 patients (\>18 yrs.) with a depressive episode (unipolar MDD) who will undergo treatment with antidepressants will be recruited from specialized clinics (academic hospital, general hospital and GGz-institute) and followed-up for one year to gather reliable data on efficacy including relapse rates, cost-effectiveness and quality of life.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * adult patients (\>18 years) with a major depressive disorder who will either start with ECT or medication * failed response to at least 1 adequate dose-duration trial with antidepressants * moderate or severe depression (HDRS-17 \>16) Exclusion Criteria: * lifetime diagnosis schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, current substance abuse disorder, organic brain syndrome * the presence of a concurrent significant medical condition impeding the ability to participate
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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GGz inGeest
Amsterdam, Netherlands
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RadboudUMC
Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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