Prevention of Postpartum Depression: A Pilot Placebo-controlled Trial of Trazodone

Phase 1

Withdrawn

• Conditions: Postpartum Depression
• Interventions: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Trazodone

• Registration Number: NCT05299398
• Lead Sponsor: Verinder Sharma

Brief Summary

Postpartum depression is a serious illness that affects approximately 17% of women who have recently given birth. Untreated depression appears to have negative effects for both the mother and her baby. Postpartum depression is quite common among women with a history of depression. Sleeplessness is a common concern during pregnancy and after delivery, and it can also trigger depression in women with a history of depression. Antidepressants are the most commonly recommended drugs for prevention of postpartum depression; however, there is limited research to understand the effectiveness of the medications in preventing postpartum depression. Trazodone is a weak antidepressant, but it is commonly prescribed for sleeplessness due to physical or psychiatric disorders. We are planning a study to find out whether trazodone in a low dose is more effective than a sugar pill in preventing postpartum depression among women with histories of depression. We expect the results of our study will make it easier for healthcare providers to select the right medication for women who are at risk of developing depression after delivery and thus improve the mental health of mothers and well-being of their babies.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-12-30
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-03-18
• Study First Posted: 2022-03-29
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-02
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-04
• Study Start: 2025-04-17
• Primary Completion: 2025-08-31
• Study Completion: 2025-08-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: WITHDRAWN
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 28

Inclusion Criteria

Healthy outpatients with a history of Major depressive disorder who are currently not on any psychotropic medications and who:

1. are 18- 45 years old,
2. are pregnant with gestation of 28-34 weeks,
3. have been in full remission of depression for > 2 months (as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5),
4. are able to communicate in English,
5. are capable of providing informed consent,
6. are planning to deliver at Victoria Hospital in London Ontario, and
7. live in London and the surrounding area, will be enrolled.

Exclusion Criteria

1. current psychiatric disorder other than generalized anxiety,
2. use of psychotropic medication over the previous 2 months,
3. history of bipolar disorder or psychosis,
4. high risk for suicide (actively suicidal or a score of ≥ 3 on item #3 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 item [HDRS]),
5. currently receiving psychotherapy

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo	Placebo	Placebo once daily for 24 weeks
Trazodone	Trazodone	Trazodone once daily for 24 weeks.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Occurrence of Major depressive episode	27 weeks	Participants having a score of \>7 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Max 52) will be assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders- 5 (SCID-5) to establish recurrence of an major depressive episode. A higher score indicates recurrence of an MDE

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Time to occurrence of Major Depressive Episode (MDE)	27 weeks	The time from childbirth until they develop MDE
Blood pressure	27 weeks	The systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured in mmHG.
Body weight	27 weeks	Body weight will be measured in kilograms
Side effects	27 weeks	Side effects of Trazodone will be measured by the Frequency, Intensity, Burden of Side Effects Rating (FIBSER) scale
Development of mania symptoms	27 weeks	Mania symptoms will be measured by the Young Mania Rating Scale. here are four items that are graded on a 0 to 8 scale (irritability, speech, thought content, and disruptive/aggressive behavior), while the remaining seven items are graded on a 0 to 4 scale. These four items are given twice the weight of the others. The score ranges from 0 to 60 where 60 indicates a worse outcome.
Electrocardiogram QT Interval	27 weeks	test that checks the QT interval of the heart. This will let us know if the participants have heart abnormalities or if the medication has made changes to the heart of the participant.
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale	24 weeks	The change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Scale from baseline to 24 weeks to measure change in depressive symptoms. The score ranges from 0-53 where a higher score is a worse outcome.
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression	24 weeks	The change in Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale from baseline to 24 weeks to measure the change in depressive symptoms. The scores range from 0 to 30 with 30 indicating more depression symptoms.
Maternal Functioning	27 weeks	Maternal Functioning will be measured by Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning. The sum of the scores is calculated, ranging from 0 to 120. Where a score of 120 means perfect functioning. The different between the scores scores will be looked at and a more positive score (8 week score is greater than baseline score) is a better outcome.
Pulse	27 weeks	Pulse will be measured in Beats per minute
Pill count	27 weeks	Adherence to intervention
Retention rate	27 weeks	The following criteria will be used to determine the success of the study: enrollment of 1 participant every 2 weeks, and recruitment of at least 60% of all patients considered eligible to participate in the study
Complete blood count (CBC)	27 weeks	The CBC is a blood test to check the overall health of the participant
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test	27 weeks	a blood test that measures Thyroid Stimulating Hormone measured in the units mIU/L

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building; 🇨🇦 London, Ontario, Canada