CRITICAL APPRAISAL ANALYSIS

Critical Appraisal Analysis

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Critical Appraisal Analysis

Introduction

The assignment is the critical appraisal of the article by Kieser.M, published in the British medical journal in 2005. The article deals with the comparative study between two agents used to treat moderate to severe depression, namely St John's wort or hypericum extract WS 2250 and paroxetine. Both of the agents have shown to be effective to treat moderate to severe depression, and in case of relapse, they have been proved to be effective in the long term treatment (Anghelescum, et.al, 2006, pp.213-9). the hypericum extract contains the active ingrediants like naphthodianthrones and phloroglucinols derivatives while paroxetine comes in the class of tricyclic antidepressants.

Hypericum is a natural extract, and from the past few years, the usage of natural products has been highly promoted. The treatment of depression using this agent is termed as herbal treatment while paroxetine is a medicinal agent that does not come under the herbal treatment category. Hypericum acts by inhibition of neurotransmitters like serotonin and nor epinephrine. The best part of the herbal treatment is that it shows the lowest possible adverse effects profile. The common adverse effects associated with the drug are dizziness, fatigue or tiredness, sedation and confusion (www.medterms.com). However, in pregnant women, the drug should be contraindicated as it lowers the estrogen level and increases the regulation for the enzymes in the liver related to the p450 system. Paroxetine, on the other hand, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) (www. NHS.uk). This agent shows its action by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin and increasing the inhibitory effects maintaining the mental equilibrium of the individual.

The assignment is the critical appraisal analysis that refers to the system of analyzing articles and researches on the basis of the Critical appraisal skill program. This program is used to find out the major strengths and weaknesses of articles by using different analytical tools.

Discussion

Study method used

The method of a research study used in this article is the randomized control trial, double blinded method. The randomized control trials, or simply RCT, are considered as methods of the gold standard in the clinical examinations. This is perhaps because of the reason that this kind of study can be blinded, or masked. The blinding refers to the masking process which inhibits the care providers, contestant s and individuals that are responsible for assessing the result of the research from acknowledgement of the type of intervention in use. The double-blinded study refers to the process of RCT in which the participants and the researchers carrying out the procedure are unaware of the critical features of the trial (Kaptchuk, 2001, pp.541-9). This will help in prevention of the bias from the researcher's side and or the effects of the placebo.

The research was conducted by taking around two hundred and fifty one patients from 21 psychiatric primary care centers in Germany. The study time period chosen was six weeks and the assessments were done by the expert psychiatrists and psychologists. The basic aim of the research ...