Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been investigated as treatment for major depressive episodes since the early 1990s. Using data from a recent meta-analysis, we show that most patients included in randomised trials display relatively high degrees of treatment resistance. This might have unfavourably biased the clinical reputation of rTMS.
Declaration of interestsM.K. has received a lecture fee from Innomed Medizintechnik in 2017 and 2018.