Escitalopram

Escitalopram, sold under the brand names Lexapro and Cipralex, among others, is an antidepressant medication of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class. It is mainly used to treat major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Escitalopram is taken by mouth. For commercial use, it is formulated as an oxalate salt exclusively.
Common side effects include headache, nausea, sexual problems, mild sedation, and trouble sleeping. More serious side effects may include suicidal thoughts in people up to the age of 24 years. It is unclear if use during pregnancy or breastfeeding is safe. Escitalopram is the -enantiomer of citalopram, hence the name es-citalopram.
Escitalopram was approved for medical use in the United States in 2002. Escitalopram is rarely replaced by twice the dose of citalopram; escitalopram is safer and more effective. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In 2023, it was the second most prescribed antidepressant and fourteenth most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 37million prescriptions. In Australia, it was one of the top 10 most prescribed medications between 2017 and 2023.
Other first-line SSRIs that have similar results include sertraline, paroxetine, and fluoxetine, among others.

Medical uses

Escitalopram is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of major depressive disorder in adolescents and adults, and generalized anxiety disorder in adults, in dosage from 5 to 20 mg. In European countries including the United Kingdom, it is approved for depression and anxiety disorders; these include: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. In Australia it is approved for major depressive disorder.

Depression

Escitalopram is among the most effective and well-tolerated antidepressants for the short-term treatment of major depressive disorder in adults. It also seems to be the safest one to give to children and adolescents.
Controversy existed regarding the effectiveness of escitalopram compared with its predecessor, citalopram. The importance of this issue followed from the greater cost of escitalopram relative to the generic mixture of isomers of citalopram, prior to the expiration of the escitalopram patent in 2012, which led to charges of evergreening. Accordingly, this issue has been examined in at least 10 different systematic reviews and meta analyses., reviews had concluded that escitalopram is modestly superior to citalopram in efficacy and tolerability.

Anxiety disorders

Escitalopram appears to be effective in treating generalized anxiety disorder, with relapse on escitalopram at 20% rather than placebo at 50%, which translates to a number needed to treat of 3.33. Escitalopram appears effective in treating social anxiety disorder as well.

Other

Escitalopram may reduce premenstrual symptoms in women with premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It seems to be more effective when taken continuously compared to luteal phase administration. It is also occasionally prescribed off-label for insomnia secondary to a mental disorder, and vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause.

Side effects

Escitalopram has a relatively favorable side effect profile compared to other antidepressant medications. Some of the most common side effect in order of frequency are, headache, nausea, somnolence, insomnia, dry mouth, fatigue, decreased libido, constipation, and flu-like symptoms
Similar to other SSRIs, escitalopram has been shown to affect sexual function, causing delayed ejaculation, and anorgasmia.
There is also evidence that SSRIs are correlated with an increase in suicidal ideation in certain individuals. An analysis conducted by the FDA found a statistically insignificant 1.5 to 2.4-fold increase of suicidality among the adults treated with escitalopram for psychiatric indications. The authors of a related study note the general problem with statistical approaches: due to the rarity of suicidal events in clinical trials, it is hard to draw firm conclusions with a sample smaller than two million patients.
Citalopram and escitalopram are associated with a mild dose-dependent QT interval prolongation, which is a measure of how rapidly the heart muscle repolarizes after each heartbeat. Prolongation of the QT interval is a risk factor for torsades de pointes, a heart rhythm disturbance that is sometimes fatal.
Despite the observed change in the QT interval, the risk of TdP from escitalopram appears to be quite low, and it is similar to other antidepressants that are not known to affect the QT interval. A 2013 review discusses several reasons to be optimistic about the safety of escitalopram. It references a crossover study in which 113 subjects were each given four different treatments in randomized order: placebo, 10 mg/day escitalopram, 30 mg/day escitalopram, or 400 mg/day moxifloxacin. At 10 mg/day, escitalopram increased the QTc interval by 4.5 milliseconds. At 30 mg/day, the QTc increased by 10.7 ms. A QTc increase of less than 60 ms is not likely to confer significant risk. The 30 mg/day escitalopram dose induced significantly less QTc prolongation than a therapeutically equivalent 60 mg/day dose of citalopram, which increased the QTc interval by 18.5 ms.
More data about the cardiac risk from escitalopram can be found in a large observational study from Sweden that took note of all the medications used by all the patients presenting with TdP, and found the incidence of TdP in escitalopram users to be only 0.7 cases of TdP for every 100,000 patients who took the drug, and only 4.1 cases of TdP for every 100,000 elderly patients who took the drug. Of the 9 antidepressants that were used by patients with TdP, escitalopram ranked 7th by TdP incidence in elderly patients, and it ranked 5th of 9 by TdP incidence in patients ages 18-64.
Antidepressants as a class had a relatively low risk of TdP, and most patients on an antidepressant who experienced TdP were also taking another drug that prolonged QT interval. Specifically, 80% of the escitalopram users who experienced TdP were taking at least one other drug known to cause TdP. For comparison, the most popular antiarrhythmic drug in the study was sotalol with 52,750 users, and sotalol had a TdP incidence of 81.1 cases and 41.2 cases of TdP per 100,000 users in the ≥65 and 18-64-year-old demographics, respectively.
Drugs that prolong the QT interval, such as escitalopram, should be used with caution in those with congenital long QT syndrome or known pre-existing QT interval prolongation, or in combination with other medicines that prolong the QT interval. ECG measurements should be considered for patients with cardiac disease, and electrolyte disturbances should be corrected before starting treatment. In December 2011, the UK implemented new restrictions on the maximum daily doses at 20 mg for adults and 10 mg for those older than 65 years or with liver impairment. The US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada did not similarly order restrictions on escitalopram dosage, only on its predecessor citalopram.
Like other SSRIs, escitalopram has also been reported to cause hyponatremia, with rates ranging from 0.5 to 32%, which can often be attributed to SIADH. This is typically not dose-dependent and at higher risk for occurrence within the first few weeks of starting treatment.
Like other SSRIs, escitalopram often exacerbates symptoms of mania and hypomania in individuals misdiagnosed with a depressive disorder instead of a bipolar disorder, making it crucial for clinicians to rule out bipolar disorders before prescribing escitalopram.

Very common effects

Very common effects include:

Common effects include:

The most common effect is fatigue or somnolence, particularly in older adults, although patients with pre-existing daytime sleepiness and fatigue may experience paradoxical improvement of these symptoms.
Escitalopram has not been shown to affect serial reaction time, logical reasoning, serial subtraction, multitasking, or Mackworth Clock task performance.

Sexual dysfunction

Some people experience persistent sexual side effects when taking SSRIs or after discontinuing them. Symptoms of medication-induced sexual dysfunction from antidepressants include difficulty with orgasm, erection, or ejaculation. Other symptoms may be genital anesthesia, anhedonia, decreased libido, vaginal lubrication issues, and nipple insensitivity in women. Rates are unknown, and there is no established treatment.

Pregnancy

Antidepressant exposure is associated with shorter duration of pregnancy, increased risk of preterm delivery, lower birth weight, and lower Apgar scores. Antidepressant exposure is not associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. There is a tentative association of SSRI use during pregnancy with heart problems in the baby. The advantages of their use during pregnancy may thus not outweigh the possible negative effects on the baby.

Withdrawal

Escitalopram discontinuation, particularly abruptly, may cause certain withdrawal symptoms such as "electric shock" sensations, colloquially called "brain shivers" or "brain zaps" by those affected. Frequent symptoms in one study were dizziness, muscle tension, chills, confusion or trouble concentrating, amnesia, and crying. Very slow tapering is recommended.
There have been spontaneous reports of discontinuation of escitalopram and other SSRIs and SNRIs, especially when abrupt, leading to dysphoric mood, irritability, agitation, anxiety, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania. Other symptoms such as panic attacks, hostility, aggression, impulsivity, akathisia, mania, worsening of depression, and suicidal ideation can emerge when the dose is adjusted down.