Definition and Identification of Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression in Real-World Clinical Practice Settings Across Asia

Purpose An Asia-Pacific expert consensus defined treatment-resistant depression (TRD) as failure of ≥2 antidepressants given at adequate doses for 6–8 weeks during a major depressive episode. A survey examined how TRD was being diagnosed in real-world practices across Asia. An expert panel then interpreted the results and provided practical recommendations. Methods Between March and July 2018, 246 clinicians from Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, South Korea, and Taiwan were surveyed on how they identified TRD patients according to their own definitions. Results Most physicians described antidepressant failure as “no response” (79%) or “inadequate response” (82%); fewer chose “failure to achieve remission” (45%). About 40% did not routinely use clinical tools to assess response. Around 52% defined adequate dose target as achieving the label’s upper dose limit. About 58% would treat for 4–8 weeks before determining antidepressant failure. Most (76%) required the ≥2 qualifying antidepressant failures to be from different classes. Approximately 60% considered antidepressant failure(s) from previous depressive episode(s) when diagnosing TRD. Conclusion Considering the survey results, antidepressant failure can be defined as a failure to achieve remission, or more practically as