Two primary outcomes of efficacy and acceptability showed a possible advantage of benzodiazepines over placebo .
Low- quality evidence shows a possible superiority of benzodiazepine over placebo in the short-term treatment of panic disorders .
Due to these limitations , our results regarding the efficacy of benzodiazepines versus placebo provide only limited guidance for clinical practice .
BACKGROUND Panic disorder is characterised by recurrent unexpected panic attacks consisting of a wave of intense fear that reaches a peak within a few minutes .
Panic disorder is a common disorder , with an estimated lifetime prevalence of 1 % to 5 % in the general population and a 7 % to 10 % prevalence in primary care setting s. Its aetiology is not fully understood and is probably heterogeneous .
Panic disorder is treated with psychological and pharmacological interventions , often used in combination .
Although benzodiazepines are frequently used in the treatment of panic disorder , guidelines recommend antidepressants , mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) , as first-line treatment for panic disorder , particularly due to their lower incidence of dependence and withdrawal reaction when compared to benzodiazepines .
Despite these recommendations , benzodiazepines are widely used in the treatment of panic disorder , probably because of their rapid onset of action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and acceptability of benzodiazepines versus placebo in the treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults .
A Fixed‐Dose Study of Alprazolam 2 mg, Alprazolam 6 mg, and Placebo in Panic Disorder
A recently reported multinational , 8-week double-blind , placebo-controlled study assessing the efficacy of alprazolam versus placebo in the treatment of panic disorder indicated significant differences favoring alprazolam . We now report the results of a three-site , 6-week , double-blind , fixed-dose study comparing alprazolam 2 mg , alprazolam 6 mg , and placebo in 94 patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia . Both alprazolam treatment groups ( 6 mg and 2 mg ) improved significantly more than did the placebo treatment group on most outcome measures . Only a few statistically significant differences between the 6 mg and 2 mg alprazolam groups were discerned , although the pattern of treatment response across measures suggested a dose effect . Dropouts in the placebo group were primarily due to lack of efficacy and in the alprazolam 6 mg group were due to side effects , which may have contributed to the limited differences between groups at study end . The findings suggest that many patients may require less than 6 mg of alprazolam per day for effective treatment of panic disorder
Two primary outcomes of efficacy and acceptability showed a possible advantage of benzodiazepines over placebo .
Low- quality evidence shows a possible superiority of benzodiazepine over placebo in the short-term treatment of panic disorders .
Due to these limitations , our results regarding the efficacy of benzodiazepines versus placebo provide only limited guidance for clinical practice .
BACKGROUND Panic disorder is characterised by recurrent unexpected panic attacks consisting of a wave of intense fear that reaches a peak within a few minutes .
Panic disorder is a common disorder , with an estimated lifetime prevalence of 1 % to 5 % in the general population and a 7 % to 10 % prevalence in primary care setting s. Its aetiology is not fully understood and is probably heterogeneous .
Panic disorder is treated with psychological and pharmacological interventions , often used in combination .
Although benzodiazepines are frequently used in the treatment of panic disorder , guidelines recommend antidepressants , mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) , as first-line treatment for panic disorder , particularly due to their lower incidence of dependence and withdrawal reaction when compared to benzodiazepines .
Despite these recommendations , benzodiazepines are widely used in the treatment of panic disorder , probably because of their rapid onset of action .
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy and acceptability of benzodiazepines versus placebo in the treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults .