Panic Management, Trazodone and a Combination of Both in the Treatment of Panic Disorder

Abstract

Background—The aim of the study was to assess the short-term efficacy of panic management, trazodone and a combination of both in the treatment of panic disorder. In none of the treatments exposure in vivo instructions were given. Method—Patients were diagnosed using DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder. A randomly assigned, comparative design was used in which patients were their own controls. Fifty-two of 60 outpatients who entered the study, completed the 6-week baseline and 6-week active treatment period. Outcome measures included self-report measures for panic frequency, panic intensity, agoraphobic anxiety and avoidance, and depression. Results—There was significant improvement on all symptom dimensions during treatment in contrast to the baseline period. No evidence for a differential efficacy of the three treatments was found. Both dropout and improvement rates were substantially lower than those reported in previous studies of behaviour therapy and antidepressants or a combination of both in panic patients. Conclusion—It is concluded that the short-term effects of panic management and trazodone without concurrent exposure in vivo instructions are marginal and comparable to those of placebo as reported in previous studies. It is suggested to evaluate the efficacy of a prescriptive simple component therapy versus a multicomponent psychotherapy for panic.