A comparative study of venlafaxine and paroxetine in treatment of generalized anxiety disorder

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy and side effects between venlafaxine and paroxetine in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.Method:Sixty patients with generalized anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to venlafaxine group(30 patients)or paroxetine group(30 patients)for 8 weeks.The clinical effects and side effects were tested with Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA),self-rating anxiety scale(SAS)and treatment emergent symptom scale(TESS).Results:The scores of HAMA and SAS in venlafaxine group reduced significantly than those in paroxetine group at the end of 2nd week(P0.05).At the end of 2nd and 4th weeks,there were significant differences in the effective rates between venlafaxine group(20%,56%)and paroxefine group(3%,26%)(P0.05).At the end of 6th week,the cure rates in venlafaxine and paroxetine were 50% and 23% respectively,and the difference was significant between two groups(P0.05),but the effective rates had no significant difference(P0.05).Both groups had mild adverse events(P0.05).Conclusion:Venlafaxin is an effective and safe drug in the treatment of the patient with generalized anxiety disorder.