A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON EFFECT OF FLUOXETINE ON PRIMARY HEMOSTASIS OF PATIENTS HAVING MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to study the effect of fluoxetine on bleeding time, clotting time and platelet count of depressed patients. Methods: Patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder were included in the study to fulfill a sample size of 60. Before starting the treatment with fluoxetine, laboratory tests were done which included bleeding time, clotting time, and platelet count. Patients were requested to return for follow-up after 4 weeks of treatment and the laboratory tests were repeated. All the study end point analysis was analyzed based on per-protocol population. Continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviations, paired t-test was used for within group comparison and unpaired t-test was used for between group comparisons. p<0.05 was considered to be significant. For categorical variable, frequency and percentage were calculated. For continuous variable, that is, bleeding time, clotting time, and platelet count, mean and standard deviation were calculated. Results: At the end of 4 weeks, it was observed that there was a significant increase in bleeding time from 1.35±0.08 min to 1.46±0.08 min**. Similarly, there was a significant increase in clotting time from 3.30±0.15 min to 3.38±0.15 min**. It was also observed that there was a significant decrease in platelet count from 3.07±0.67 lakh cells/cu mm to 2.86±0.63 lakh cells/cu mm**. Conclusion: Fluoxetine has shown to increase bleeding time, clotting time, and decrease platelet count. Hence, fluoxetine induced risk of bleeding and its cardio protective action has to be considered while individualizing therapy in management of depression.