| Abstract: | This double‐blind study evaluates the efficacy and tolerability of fluoxetine and imipramine in the acute and long‐term treatment of panic disorder in 38 patients meeting DSM‐IV criteria for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. On the basis of HRSA mean scores evaluation, fluoxetine was found to be quicker than imipramine in reducing generalized anxiety at the end of the first week of treatment. However, through PASS and CGI mean scores evaluation, no statistically significant differences were found at any time in the efficacy of fluoxetine and imipramine on the total number of panic attacks, anticipatory anxiety or phobia severity. Fluoxetine has also turned out to be better tolerated than imipramine and to be effective at dosages low enough to avoid the event of an activation syndrome. Long‐term evaluation has shown high rates of persistent remission with both drugs. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
