For example, 40% of participants dropped out of the trials, significantly decreasing their validity.Until 2002, sertraline was only approved for use in adults ages 18 and over; that year, it was approved by the FDA for use in treating children aged 6 or older with severe OCD. In 2003, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued a guidance that, apart from fluoxetine (Prozac), SSRIs are not suitable for the treatment of depression in patients under 18. However, sertraline can still be used in the UK for the treatment of OCD in children and adolescents. In 2005, the FDA added a boxed warning concerning pediatric suicidal behavior to all antidepressants, including sertraline. In 2007, labeling was again changed to add a warning regarding suicidal behavior in young adults ages 18 to 24. Society and culture
Generic availability
The US patent for Zoloft expired in 2006, and sertraline is available in generic form and is marketed under many brand names worldwide.In May 2020, the FDA placed Zoloft on the list of drugs currently facing a shortage. Other uses
Sertraline may be useful to treat murine Zaire ebolavirus (murine EBOV). The World Health Organization (WHO) considers this a promising area of research.Lass-Flörl et al., 2003 finds it significantly inhibits phospholipase B in the fungal genus Candida, reducing virulence.Sertraline is also a very effective leishmanicide. Specifically, Palit & Ali 2008 find that sertraline kills almost all promastigotes of Leishmania donovani.Sertraline is strongly antibacterial against some species. References
External links

"Sertraline". Drug Information Portal. US National Library of Medicine. "Sertraline hydrochloride". Drug Information Portal.
Positive results were obtained in trials that included predominantly women (75%) with a majority (60%) having physical or sexual assault as the traumatic event. Contrary to the above suggestions, a meta-analysis of sertraline clinical trials for PTSD found it to be not significantly better than placebo. Another meta-analysis relegated sertraline to the second line, proposing trauma focused psychotherapy as a first-line intervention. The authors noted that Pfizer had declined to submit the results of a negative trial for the inclusion into the meta-analysis making the results unreliable.Sertraline when taken daily can be useful for the treatment of premature ejaculation. A disadvantage of sertraline is that it requires continuous daily treatment to delay ejaculation significantly.A 2019 systematic review suggested that sertraline may be a good way to control anger, irritability and hostility in depressed patients and patients with other comorbidities. Contraindications
Sertraline is contraindicated in individuals taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors or the antipsychotic pimozide. Sertraline concentrate contains alcohol and is therefore contraindicated with disulfiram. The prescribing information recommends that treatment of the elderly and patients with liver impairment "must be approached with caution". Due to the slower elimination of sertraline in these groups, their exposure to sertraline may be as high as three times the average exposure for the same dose. Side effects
Nausea, ejaculation failure, insomnia, diarrhea, dry mouth, somnolence, dizziness, tremor, headache, excessive sweating, fatigue, and decreased libido are the common adverse effects associated with sertraline with the greatest difference from placebo. Those that most often resulted in interruption of the treatment are nausea, diarrhea and insomnia.