[Comparison of the effect of alprazolam, imipramine and placebo in the treatment of panic disorders in Cali, Colombia].

A comparison of safety, and efficiency of Alprazolam, Imipramine, and placebo in the treatment of panic disorder shows that both active drugs are significantly superior to placebo as regards therapeutic effectiveness. On a 77 patient sample, 62 completed an 8-week treatment, and 66 were considered as "assessable" for efficiency results after completing a 3-week treatment. Significantly, more placebo-treated patients than either Alprazolam, or Imipramine-treated patients dropped out trial, while the number of panic attacks was significantly reduced in both Alprazolam-, and Imipramine-treated groups. When trial was over, 96% of patients in Alprazolam group, and 95% of patients in Imipramine group were free from panic attacks, if compared to 65% in the placebo group. Generally speaking, drugs were well tolerated, and no serious adverse effects or life-threatening events were observed.