Major depressive disorder (MDD) does not consistently respond to any single antidepressant (AD) therapy. Adjunctive therapy with atypical antipsychotics (AA) showed higher response rates compared with AD monotherapy. Aripiprazole, an oral quinolinone, is the first AA agent to be approved in the US as adjunctive treatment in adult patients with MDD.

Aim The aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adjunctive low-dose aripiprazole combined with AD versus AD monotherapy in patients with MDD with minimal improvement after 4 weeks of prior AD monotherapy.

Ten patients with MDD and a history of minimal improvement to 4 weeks of AD monotherapy (escitalopram 10–15 mg/day, sertralin 50–100 mg/day) were included in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups: one (n = 5) with AD plus aripiprazole 5–7.5 mg/day and the other (n = 5) with AD alone. After baseline assessment, the subjects were followed up at weeks 2, and 4. The primary efficacy was the mean change in (HAM-D17) and CGI-I.

The aripiprazole group exhibited significantly better efficacy than the AD group in mean total score changes of HAM-D17 and CGI from the baseline to weeks 2, and 4. The item “work and social activities” of HAM-D 17 showed significant improvement at week 4, and the item “somatic symptoms (GI)” showed significant improvement at week 2.

Adjunctive aripiprazole therapy significantly improved depressive symptoms in MDD who didn’t respond to AD monotherapy. Aripiprazole augmentation is an efficacious, well-tolerated and safe treatment for patients with MDD.