Once-Daily Venlafaxine XR Compared With Fluoxetine in Outpatients With Depression and Anxiety

Letter to the Editor

Sir: We read with interest the study conducted by Silverstone et al. which reaffirms the efficacy of fluoxetine in patients with anxiety and depression. However, the authors’ statement in the abstract claiming that this study "provides evidence for [venlafaxine XR’s ] superiority over fluoxetine" is unfounded and may mislead readers who have not had the opportunity to critically review the article. A thorough review of this study plainly demonstrates that fluoxetine has comparable efficacy to venlafaxine XR and better tolerability.