TY - JOUR
T1 - Fluvoxamine for the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
AU - Pine, Daniel S.
AU - Walkup, John T.
AU - Labellarte, Michael J.
AU - Riddle, Mark A.
AU - Greenhill, Laurence
AU - Klein, Rachel
AU - Davies, Mark
AU - Sweeney, Michael
AU - Abikoff, Howard
AU - Hack, Sabine
AU - Klee, Brian
AU - McCracken, James
AU - Bergman, Lindsey
AU - Piacentini, John
AU - March, John
AU - Compton, Scott
AU - Robinson, James
AU - O'Hara, Thomas
AU - Baker, Sherryl
AU - Vitiello, Benedetto
AU - Ritz, Louise
AU - Roper, Margaret
PY - 2001/4/26
Y1 - 2001/4/26
N2 - Background: Drugs that selectively inhibit serotonin reuptake are effective treatments for adults with mood and anxiety disorders, but limited data are available on the safety and efficacy of serotonin-reuptake inhibitors in children with anxiety disorders. Methods: We studied 128 children who were 6 to 17 years of age; who met the criteria for social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder; and who had received psychological treatment for three weeks without improvement. The children were randomly assigned to receive fluvoxamine (at a maximum of 300 mg per day) or placebo for eight weeks and were evaluated with rating scales designed to assess the degree of anxiety and impairment. Results: Children in the fluvoxamine group had a mean (±SD) decrease of 9.7±6.9 points in symp toms of anxiety on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (range of possible scores, 0 to 25, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety), as compared with a decrease of 3.1±4.8 points among children in the placebo group (P<0.001). On the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale, 48 of 63 children in the fluvoxamine group (76 percent) had a response to the treatment, as indicated by a score of less than 4, as compared with 19 of 65 children in the placebo group (29 percent, P±0.001). Five children in the fluvoxamine group (8 percent) discontinued treatment because of adverse events, as compared with one child in the placebo group (2 percent). Conclusions: Fluvoxamine is an effective treatment for children and adolescents with social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder.
AB - Background: Drugs that selectively inhibit serotonin reuptake are effective treatments for adults with mood and anxiety disorders, but limited data are available on the safety and efficacy of serotonin-reuptake inhibitors in children with anxiety disorders. Methods: We studied 128 children who were 6 to 17 years of age; who met the criteria for social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder; and who had received psychological treatment for three weeks without improvement. The children were randomly assigned to receive fluvoxamine (at a maximum of 300 mg per day) or placebo for eight weeks and were evaluated with rating scales designed to assess the degree of anxiety and impairment. Results: Children in the fluvoxamine group had a mean (±SD) decrease of 9.7±6.9 points in symp toms of anxiety on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (range of possible scores, 0 to 25, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety), as compared with a decrease of 3.1±4.8 points among children in the placebo group (P<0.001). On the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale, 48 of 63 children in the fluvoxamine group (76 percent) had a response to the treatment, as indicated by a score of less than 4, as compared with 19 of 65 children in the placebo group (29 percent, P±0.001). Five children in the fluvoxamine group (8 percent) discontinued treatment because of adverse events, as compared with one child in the placebo group (2 percent). Conclusions: Fluvoxamine is an effective treatment for children and adolescents with social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder.
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U2 - 10.1056/NEJM200104263441703
DO - 10.1056/NEJM200104263441703
M3 - Article
C2 - 11323729
AN - SCOPUS:0035953646
SN - 0028-4793
VL - 344
SP - 1279
EP - 1285
JO - New England Journal of Medicine
JF - New England Journal of Medicine
IS - 17
ER -