We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .
A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study of Controlled Release Fluvoxamine for the Treatment of Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder
Abstract : This was a r and omized double-blind placebo-controlled multicenter study to assess the efficacy , safety , and tolerability of fluvoxamine in a controlled release ( CR ) formulation for treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder ( GSAD ) . A total of 300 subjects with GSAD were r and omly assigned to receive either fluvoxamine CR ( N = 149 ) or placebo ( N = 151 ) for 12 weeks . Mean changes from baseline to end point in Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale ( LSAS ) , Clinical Global Impression Severity of Illness Scale ( CGI-S ) , Sheehan Disability Scale ( SDS ) , as well as the mean end point scores in Clinical Global Impression Improvement Scale ( CGI-I ) and Patient Global Impression of Improvement Scale ( PGI ) were compared between the fluvoxamine CR and placebo treatment groups . Arizona Sexual Experience Scale ( ASEX ) , adverse event , and other safety parameters were also assessed . The results demonstrated that fluvoxamine CR was significantly superior to placebo in decreasing LSAS total score ( primary measure ) starting at week 4 . At end point , there was a mean change from baseline of −36.1 ± 2.7 ( 37 % reduction ) in the LSAS total score in the fluvoxamine CR group compared with −27.3 ± 2.4 ( 28 % reduction ) in the placebo group ( P = 0.020 for mean change ) . Fluvoxamine CR was also significantly superior to placebo in SDS , CGI-S , CGI-I at end point ( secondary measures ) . When compared with placebo , fluvoxamine CR did not cause any significant weight gain or clinical ly significant sexual dysfunction as measured by ASEX . In summary , fluvoxamine CR is an efficacious , safe , and well-tolerated treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder
We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .