Treatment of 79 cases generalized anxiety with paroxetine using buspirone as control

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of paroxetine with buspirone in treatment of generalized anxiety. Methods: 79 patients with generalized anxiety were randomly divided to receive oral paroxetine in a dose of 20 ~ 40mg once daily for 4 weeks ( n = 39) or oral buspirone in a dose of 15 ~ 40mg once daily for 4 weeks ( n = 40). The efficacies were evaluated with HAMA (Hamailton anxiety) scale,SAS (self-zating anxiety scale),CGI (clinical global impression scale) and TESS (treatment emergent symptoms scale) at the end of 1,2,4 weeks after treatment. Results:The response rate was 66.7% for active group and 70.0% for control group (P0.05) and no difference in incidence of adverse reaction was observed. Conclusion: The clinical efficacy and incidence of adverse reactions for paroxetine are similar to those of buspirone.