Accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation for major depressive disorder or bipolar depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar depression (BD). A random-effects model was adopted to analyze the primary and secondary outcomes using the Review Manager, Version 5.3 software. This meta-analysis (MA) identified five double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comprising 239 MDD or BD patients with a major depressive episode. Active aiTBS overperformed sham stimulation in the study-defined response. This MA found preliminary evidence that active aiTBS resulted in a greater response in treating major depressive episodes in MDD or BD patients than sham stimulation.