A Medline search of research on pharmacotherapy was undertaken , and a previous systematic review on the evidence -based pharmacotherapy of panic disorder was up date d. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors remain a first-line pharmacotherapy of panic disorder , with the serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine also an acceptable early option .
Temporary co-administration of benzodiazepines can be considered .
For patients not responding to first-line agents several pharmacotherapy options are available , but there is a notable paucity of data on the optimal choice
The evidence -based pharmacotherapy of panic disorder continues to evolve .
This paper review s data on first-line pharmacotherapy , evidence for maintenance treatment , and management options for treatment-refractory patients .
Medical utilisation and costs in panic disorder: a comparison with social phobia.
There is considerable evidence that people with panic disorder utilise the physical health care system more frequently than people in the general community and so incur for themselves , and impose on the public health care system , considerably greater costs . Although this is probably because of specific characteristics to do with panic disorder , it may also be a function of having any anxiety disorder where panic is prominent . This study represents one of the few comparisons of medical utilisation and costs incurred by people with panic disorder to those incurred by people with another anxiety disorder , in this case , social phobia . Before treatment , 41 people with panic disorder , 15 with social phobia and 43 nonanxious controls  were interviewed about their use of the medical care system over the previous 12 months . As expected , people with panic disorder had significantly higher utilisation rates than either the nonanxious controls or the socially phobic subjects , and incurred substantially higher costs . Adequate screening for panic disorder at the primary medical care level together with appropriate treatment referral therefore have the potential to substantially reduce the personal and community costs incurred by people with panic disorder
A Medline search of research on pharmacotherapy was undertaken , and a previous systematic review on the evidence -based pharmacotherapy of panic disorder was up date d. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors remain a first-line pharmacotherapy of panic disorder , with the serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine also an acceptable early option .
Temporary co-administration of benzodiazepines can be considered .
For patients not responding to first-line agents several pharmacotherapy options are available , but there is a notable paucity of data on the optimal choice
The evidence -based pharmacotherapy of panic disorder continues to evolve .
This paper review s data on first-line pharmacotherapy , evidence for maintenance treatment , and management options for treatment-refractory patients .