CSP #576 - VA Augmentation and Switching Treatments for Improving Depression Outcomes (VAST-D)

The overall aim of VAST-D is to enhance treatment outcomes for representative outpatients diagnosed with nonpsychotic major depressive disorder (MDD) and treated in primary or psychiatric VA care settings. In particular, VAST-D is designed to determine the comparative effectiveness of different treatment options for participants with MDD who fail to have a satisfactory outcome to treatment with their initial antidepressants.

These options may be conceptualized as representing two overall treatment strategies: 1) Medication Switch - switching from the initial antidepressant to another antidepressant medication, specifically bupropion-SR and 2) Medication Augmentation - augmenting the initial antidepressant with a second antidepressant, specifically bupropion-SR or a second generation antipsychotic, specifically aripiprazole. VAST-D's primary goal is to determine which of these 3 treatment strategies is most likely to lead to remission. Other key objectives include comparisons of response, time to remission, time to response, relapse, anxiety symptoms, suicidal ideation and behaviors, side effects, tolerability, quality of life, health related costs and satisfaction with participation in the study.

VAST-D will enroll 1518 total patients of both genders and all ethnic/racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. All patients will meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV-TR (text revised) criteria for nonpsychotic MDD. The diagnostic criteria for eligibility will be established by clinical interview supplemented with the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Final determination for eligibility will be made by the study clinician. Only participants with a suboptimal outcome to a well documented, adequately delivered (dose and duration), trial with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) or mirtazapine will be eligible for the study. Failure to achieve an adequate outcome will be ascertained by a score on the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Clinician rated (QIDS-C16) scale >= 16 (considered severe depression) after at least 6 weeks of treatment or QIDS-C16 >= 11 (considered moderately severe depression) after at least 8 weeks of treatment. Otherwise, the inclusion criteria are broad and the exclusion criteria are few; participants with most comorbid general medical or psychiatric disorders are generally included to provide a broadly representative sample.

Participants will be randomized (1:1:1 ratio) to switch to bupropion-SR alone (n=506), current antidepressant plus bupropion-SR (n=506), or current antidepressant plus aripiprazole (n=506). Treatment will be guided by clinician-rated symptom measures (the PHQ-9) and global side effects measures (the Frequency, Intensity, and Burden of Side Effects Rating or FIBSER) obtained at each treatment visit. Acute treatment visits will occur at baseline and at weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 to ensure delivery of appropriate and yet vigorous and tolerable pharmacotherapy. Participants who tolerate the acute treatment and achieve adequate response at 12 weeks will enter the 24-week Continuation Treatment phase, during which the initial treatment will continue and visits will occur every four weeks subsequently until patients have been followed for 36 weeks post-randomization. The QIDS-C16 will be administered at baseline and at each follow-up visit by an independent evaluator (who will be blinded to treatment assignment) to measure symptoms of depression for the study outcomes of remission, response and relapse. Neither the participant nor the treating clinician will be blinded to treatment.

Primary hypotheses: