Study of escitalopram and paroxetine in treatment of panic disorder

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of escitalopram and paroxetine in the treatment of patients with panic disorder.Methods:Fifty-five patients with panic disorder were randomly assigned to escitalopram group or sertraline group for 10 weeks.The panic symptom scale(PASS),Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA) were used to evaluate the efficacy,and the treatment emergent symptom scale(TESS) were used to evaluate the side effects.Results: After 10 weeks treatment,the mean scores of PASS,HAMA reduced in both groups.The rates of efficacy of escitalopram and paroxetine were 96.2% and 92.3% respectively,and there were no statistically significant differences in the efficacy between two groups.But it took effect more quickly in escitalopram group than in paroxetine group(P0.01).Patients of both groups had good tolerance.Conclusions: Escitalopram is an effective and well-tolerated drug in the treatment of panic disorder,and takes effect quickly.