Clinical evaluation of sertraline combined with low dose quetiapine in the treatment of adolescent depression
LIZHA Mansuer
REMILAI Rezhake
LIU Jing
HU Hongxing
Abstract：Objective To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of sertraline in combination with low-dose que-tiapine in the treatment of adolescent depression complicated by non-suicidal self-injury(NSSI).Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted.A total of 112 adolescent depressive patients with NSSI admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2023 to December 2024 were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups ac-cording to a random number table.After exclusions and dropouts,a total of 102 patients(51 in each group)completed the study and were included in the final analysis.The control group received sertraline monotherapy,while the observation group received sertraline combined with low-dose quetiapine.The treatment course lasted 8 weeks.Clinical symptoms,impulsive behaviors,and self-injurious behavior scores were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.Serum neurotransmit-ter levels were measured and compared.Clinical efficacy and the incidence of adverse reactions were statistically analyzed.Results After 8 weeks of treatment,the scores of the Hamilton Depression Scale((9.25±1.86)points),Hamilton Anxi-ety Scale((8.98±2.13)points),Barratt Impulsiveness Scale((34.62±7.85)points),and Self-Harm Behavior Screening Scale((5.15±1.42)points)in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group((13.12±2.05),(12.86±2.31),(47.89±8.21),(6.98±1.47)points,respectively)(t=9.984,8.818,8.343,6.394,all P<0.05).After 8 weeks of treatment,the ob-servation group showed significantly higher levels of norepinephrine((3.25±0.42)nmol/L),5-hydroxytryptamine((195.68±28.32)ng/mL),and dopamine((52.47±5.83)ng/L)compared to the control group((2.51±0.38)nmol/L,(158.45±27.64)ng/mL,and(44.16±4.92)ng/L,respectively)(t=9.330,6.740,7.779,all P<0.05).The total effective rate in the observation group was 92.16%(47/51),significantly higher than 76.47%(39/51)in the control group(χ2=4.744,P<0.05).The incidence of adverse re-actions in the observation group was 15.69%(8/51),showing no statistically significant difference compared to 11.76%(6/51)in the control group(χ2=0.331,P>0.05).Conclusion Within the 8-week observation period of this study,sertraline combined with low-dose quetiapine in the treatment of adolescent depression with NSSI was superior to sertraline monotherapy in improving depression,anxiety,impulsivity,and NSSI scores.It also more effectively regulated the imbalance of serum neurotransmitters,with a safety profile comparable to monotherapy.However,the long-term efficacy and safety still require further validation.
Keywords：adolescent depressionnon-suicidal self-injurysertralinequetiapineefficacyrandomized controlled trialsafety
Publication Date：2026-03-25
Online Publishing Date：2026-04-07(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 353-357 )