Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi, cilt.30, sa.3, ss.344-352, 2023 (Hakemli Dergi)
Objective It was aimed to examine the socio-demographic and clinical data of patients treated with Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for depressive disorder and to evaluate the relationship of these data with remission response to rTMS treatment. Material and Method The medical records of 120 patients were evaluated retrospectively. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D), Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI), and Richard-Campbell Sleep Scale (RCSQ) scores were analyzed. Results 60% (72/120) of the patients were women and the mean age was 42.80±12.80 years. According to the HAM-D scores (7 and below), 41.4% (46/111) of the patients were in remission at the end of the treatment. In addition, when the pre-treatment and post-treatment scale scores were evaluated, HAM-D scores and BAI scores decreased significantly after treatment (respectively; p<0.001, p<0.001), while RCSQ scores increased significantly after treatment (p<0.001). Binary regression analysis was performed to investigate the predictive factors for remission of depressive symptoms after rTMS treatment. A high HAM-D score at the beginning of the treatment showed a negative predictive relationship with remission (p<0.001), while a decrease in HAM-D scores at the second week of treatment showed a positive predictive relationship with remission (p=0.009). Conclusion We may suggest that rTMS treatment reduces depression and anxiety symptoms and improves sleep quality. In addition, it can be said that the severe depression before the rTMS treatment reduces the likelihood of going into remission, whereas the decrease in the severity of depression observed in the second week of the treatment increases this likelihood.