Source
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Although panic disorder is generally responsive to single antidepressant pharmacotherapy, a substantial percentage of patients fail either to respond adequately or to maintain a therapeutic response.
METHOD:
The authors report on seven consecutive openly treated patients with panic disorder who showed inadequate antipanic responses to treatment regimens including either a tricyclic (TCA) or fluoxetine. Those patients taking a TCA had fluoxetine added and those patients taking fluoxetine had a TCA added.
RESULTS:
All seven patients showed an improvement in antipanic response to the combination treatment.
CONCLUSION:
The current case series is the first, to our knowledge, to suggest that the combination of a TCA and fluoxetine may provide a viable pharmacotherapeutic option for panic disorder patients who have failed to respond to an adequate trial of either a TCA or fluoxetine. Appropriate controlled studies are recommended.