Trial · NCT03548454

Comparing Effectiveness of Duloxetine and Desipramine in Patients With Chronic Pain: A Pragmatic Trial Using Point of Care Randomization

NCT03548454, Phase 4, Completed, Stanford University; results first posted 2025-11-06

3 sourcestrials-2026-11-12-0.5.0

Cite this record

ConductScience Library. Comparing Effectiveness of Duloxetine and Desipramine in Patients With Chronic Pain: A Pragmatic Trial Using Point of Care Randomization. Trials, record NCT03548454. Release trials-2026-11-12-0.5.0, 12 Nov 2026. https://conductscience.org/library/trials/NCT03548454

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Trial

As registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, in the graph's capture of the registry.

Title: Comparing Effectiveness of Duloxetine and Desipramine in Patients With Chronic Pain: A Pragmatic Trial Using Point of Care Randomization
NCT number: NCT03548454
Status: Completed
Phases: Phase 4
Enrollment: 86 participants, actual
Lead sponsor: Stanford University
Conditions: Chronic Pain
Interventions: Duloxetine, Desipramine
First posted: 2018-06-07
Last updated: 2025-11-06
Results first posted: 2025-11-06

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Registered outcomes6

Each outcome the trial registered, primary first, in ClinicalTrials.gov's words.

List	Outcome	Time frame	Description
Primary	Pain Intensity	baseline and 6 months	Percent of participants in each arm that had more than 30% reduction in pain intensity. Participants rated their pain on an 11-point scale (0 to 10; 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain imaginable).
Secondary	Physical Function	Baseline and 6 months	National Institute of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Standardized score for physical function. Raw scores were converted to T-scores with a population mean of 50 with standard deviation of 10. Overall score range: 0 to 100, higher scores correspond to better function.
Secondary	Pain Interference	Baseline and 6 months	National Institute of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Standardized score for pain interference. Raw scores were converted to T-scores with a population mean of 50 with standard deviation of 10. Overall score range: 0 to 100, higher scores correspond to worse pain interference.
Secondary	Depression	Baseline and 6 months	National Institute of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Standardized score for depression. Raw scores were converted to T-scores with a population mean of 50 with standard deviation of 10. Overall score range: 0 to 100, higher scores correspond to more severe depression.
Secondary	Anxiety	Baseline and 6 months	National Institute of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Standardized score for anxiety. Raw scores were converted to T-scores with a population mean of 50 with standard deviation of 10. Overall score range: 0 to 100, higher scores correspond to more severe anxiety.
Secondary	Adherence	Monthly for 6 months	Number of participants who completed 6-month therapy based on prescription records.

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Outcomes6

Each outcome the trial posted results for, in ClinicalTrials.gov's words.

Type	Outcome	Time frame	Population	Units	Measured as
PRIMARY	Pain Intensity	baseline and 6 months		Participants	COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS
SECONDARY	Physical Function	Baseline and 6 months	Participants with data at the respective time point	T-score	MEAN
SECONDARY	Pain Interference	Baseline and 6 months	Participants with data at the respective time point	T-score	MEAN
SECONDARY	Depression	Baseline and 6 months	Participants with data at the respective time point	T-score	MEAN
SECONDARY	Anxiety	Baseline and 6 months	Participants with data at the respective time point	T-score	MEAN
SECONDARY	Adherence	Monthly for 6 months		Participants	COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Results by group28

Each measurement the trial posted, group by group, in the words and numbers it posted.

Outcome	Group	Category	Value	Spread	Units
Pain Intensity	Desipramine		11		Participants
Pain Intensity	Duloxetine		29		Participants
Physical Function	Desipramine	Baseline	39.29	Standard Deviation 7.63	T-score
Physical Function	Duloxetine	Baseline	39.07	Standard Deviation 6.33	T-score
Physical Function	Desipramine	6-month	41.9	Standard Deviation 8.91	T-score
Physical Function	Duloxetine	6-month	39.39	Standard Deviation 6.98	T-score
Physical Function	Desipramine	Change from baseline at 6-month	2.54	Standard Deviation 5.83	T-score
Physical Function	Duloxetine	Change from baseline at 6-month	1.36	Standard Deviation 3.88	T-score
Pain Interference	Desipramine	Baseline	64.37	Standard Deviation 7.1	T-score
Pain Interference	Duloxetine	Baseline	64.93	Standard Deviation 6.48	T-score

1 to 10 of 28Source ClinicalTrials.gov

See all 28 results by group

Participant flow6

How many started, completed or left each group, period by period.

Period	Milestone	Group	Participants
Overall Study	STARTED	Desipramine	38
Overall Study	STARTED	Duloxetine	48
Overall Study	COMPLETED	Desipramine	38
Overall Study	COMPLETED	Duloxetine	48
Overall Study	NOT COMPLETED	Desipramine	0
Overall Study	NOT COMPLETED	Duloxetine	0

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Adverse events20

Each adverse event the trial posted, group by group: the participants affected out of those at risk.

Type	Event	Organ system	Group	Affected	At risk	Events
other	Did not tolerate	Investigations	Desipramine	1	38	1
other	Did not tolerate	Investigations	Duloxetine	0	48	0
other	Constipation	Gastrointestinal disorders	Desipramine	1	38	1
other	Constipation	Gastrointestinal disorders	Duloxetine	0	48	0
other	Drowsiness	Nervous system disorders	Desipramine	1	38	1
other	Drowsiness	Nervous system disorders	Duloxetine	0	48	0
other	Coagulopathy	Blood and lymphatic system disorders	Desipramine	1	38	1
other	Coagulopathy	Blood and lymphatic system disorders	Duloxetine	0	48	0
other	Urinary frequency	Renal and urinary disorders	Desipramine	1	38	1
other	Urinary frequency	Renal and urinary disorders	Duloxetine	0	48	0

1 to 10 of 20Source ClinicalTrials.gov

See all 20 adverse events

Adverse event totals6

The totals the trial posted for each group.

Total	Group	Affected	At risk
Total, all-cause mortality	Desipramine	0	38
Total, all-cause mortality	Duloxetine	0	48
Total, other adverse events	Desipramine	6	38
Total, other adverse events	Duloxetine	4	48
Total, serious adverse events	Desipramine	0	38
Total, serious adverse events	Duloxetine	0	48

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

Papers0

The papers the trial lists on ClinicalTrials.gov.

None in this release.

Grants0

The grants NIH RePORTER links to the trial, newest funded first: NIH's, and some of AHRQ's, CDC's, FDA's and VA's. Each shows its title, principal investigators, organization and funder in its newest year.

None in this release.

Trial comparisons4

Comparisons of the trial's two groups, calculated by ConductScience from the counts it posted.

Comparison	Source
Desipramine vs Duloxetine: Adherence	Trial comparisons
Desipramine vs Duloxetine: Pain Intensity	Trial comparisons
Desipramine vs Duloxetine: deaths from any cause	Trial comparisons
Desipramine vs Duloxetine: serious adverse events	Trial comparisons

Tests0

The ConductCognition tests this trial's registered outcomes name, as ScienceGraph matched them in trial-tests-2026-11-12-0.2.1.

None in this release.

Data dates

The day each source was copied for this release.

ClinicalTrials.gov: 2026-11-12; ClinicalTrials.gov
Results, from AACT: 2026-03-23; AACT
NIH grant links: 2026-11-13; NIH RePORTER

Sources 3

ClinicalTrials.gov's posted results, through CTTI's AACTFreely available. Acknowledgement requested
ClinicalTrials.govNo license stated
NIH RePORTER's clinical studies and project filesPublic domain

Each source's terms

ClinicalTrials.gov's posted results, through CTTI's AACTClinicalTrials.gov data via Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT), CTTI. CTTI makes its materials freely available and requests acknowledgement. https://aact.ctti-clinicaltrials.org/documentation/299
ClinicalTrials.govnone stated
NIH RePORTER's clinical studies and project filesPublic domain (NIH RePORTER)

ClinicalTrials.gov's data carry an international copyright outside the United States: https://clinicaltrials.gov/about-site/terms-conditions.

For software

Read this trial from software.

The record and each of its lists are JSON, twenty rows a page. No key.

GET https://conductscience.org/api/trials/v1/NCT03548454

GET https://conductscience.org/api/trials/v1/NCT03548454/results?page=2

API reference For AI assistants