Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41084764›Full record

Trial reportEuropean psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists2025

Improvements in health-related quality of life with esketamine nasal spray versus quetiapine extended release.

Andreas Reif, Bernhard T Baune, Jozefien Buyze, Anthony J Cleare, Shaun Johnson, Yerkebulan Kambarov, Nigel Olisa, Falk Schuster, Christian von Holt, Tamara Werner-Kiechle and 1 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialClinical Trial, Phase IIIComparative Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04338321 (A Randomized, Open-label, Rater-Blinded, Active-Controlled, International, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Flexibly Dosed Esketamine Nasal Spray Compared With Quetiapine Extended-Release in Adult and Elderly Participants With Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder Who Are Continuing a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor/Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04338321 phase3completednot on this map

A Randomized, Open-label, Rater-Blinded, Active-Controlled, International, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Flexibly Dosed Esketamine Nasal Spray Compared With Quetiapine Extended-Release in Adult and Elderly Participants With Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder Who Are Continuing a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor/Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor

TypeinterventionalSponsorJanssen-Cilag International NVRan2020 to 2022Enrolled676ConditionsDepressive Disorder, MajorArmsEsketamine 28 mg, Esketamine 56 mg, Esketamine 84 mg, Quetiapine XR 50 mg, Quetiapine XR 100 mg
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Treatment-resistant Depression in the Post-ketamine Era: Unmet Needs beyond Rapid Response.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Andreas ReifDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Bernhard T BauneDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Jozefien BuyzeJohnson & Johnson, Beerse, Belgium.
Anthony J CleareInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Shaun JohnsonGAMIAN-Europe, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0009-0004-5711-6394
Yerkebulan KambarovJohnson & Johnson, Beerse, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-0362-8373
Nigel OlisaGAMIAN-Europe, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-3288-849X
Falk SchusterIndependent Consultant, Leipzig, Germany.ORCID 0009-0005-5773-0850
Christian von HoltJohnson & Johnson, Neuss, Germany.
Tamara Werner-KiechleJohnson & Johnson, Neuss, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9145-3790
Eduard Vietahttps://ror.org/021018s57Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-0548-0053

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundClinical response and remission may not fully reflect patient priorities in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) outcomes should be assessed to comprehensively capture treatment benefits.

methodsESCAPE-TRD (NCT04338321) was a 32-week randomized, phase IIIb trial comparing esketamine nasal spray (NS) versus quetiapine extended release (XR), both alongside an ongoing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor/serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, in patients with TRD. Symptom and HRQoL improvements were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36), Quality of Life in Depression Scale (QLDS), and EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) measures.

resultsEsketamine NS-treated patients (

conclusionsEsketamine NS produced superior improvements in HRQoL compared with quetiapine XR, indicating positive impacts on aspects of patients' lives that matter to them, alongside clinical symptoms of TRD.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsAntipsychotic AgentsDepressive Disorder, Treatment-ResistantKetamineOutcome Assessment, Health CareQuality of LifeQuetiapine FumarateAdultDelayed-Action PreparationsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNasal SpraysAntidepressive AgentsAntipsychotic AgentsDelayed-Action PreparationsEsketamineKetamineNasal SpraysQuetiapine Fumarateclinical trialesketaminehealth-related quality of lifequetiapinetreatment-resistant depression

Identifiers

PMID41084764
PMCPMC12646121

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.