Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T17:18:59.106Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Citalopram for Social Anxiety Disorder: An Open-label Pilot Study in Refractory and Nonrefractory Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Abstract

There is limited systematic data assessing alternate pharmacotherapy of social anxiety disorder in patients failing to tolerate or fully respond to initial treatment; no data specifically address the efficacy of citalopram in this scenario. We present a prospective open-label trial of citalopram in 10 patients with generalized social anxiety disorder, 6 of 10 of whom had not responded to or not tolerated a prior treatment intervention for the disorder. Citalopram, at a mean dose of 55 mg (SD+12.7 mg) was well tolerated, and patients improved significantly on all outcome measures. Results of this study suggest that citalopram may be a safe and effective treatment for generalized social anxiety disorder, including patients who have failed to tolerate or respond to a prior treatment trial.

Type
Original Research
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Kessler, RC, McGonagle, KA, Zhao, S, et al.Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1994;51:819.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Wittchen, HU, Beloch, E. The impact of social phobia on quality of life. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 1996;3:1523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Judd, LL. Social Phobia: a clinical overview. J Clin Psychiatry. 1994;55:59.Google ScholarPubMed
4.Schneier, FR, Johnson, J, Hornig, CD, Liebowitz, MR, Weissman, MM. Social phobia comorbidity and morbidity in an epidemiologic sample. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992:49:282288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Schneier, FR, Martin, LY, Liebowitz, MR, Gorman, J. Alcohol abuse in social phobia. J AnxietyDisorders. 1989;3:1523.Google Scholar
6.Stein, MB, Tancer, ME, Gelernter, CS, Vittone, BJ, Uhde, TW. Major depression in patients with social phobia. Am J Psychiatry. 1990;147:637639.Google ScholarPubMed
7.Stein, MB, Shea, CA, Uhde, TW. Social phobic symptoms in patients with panic disorder. Practical and theoretical implications. Am J Psychiatry. 1989;146:235238.Google ScholarPubMed
8.Stein, MB, Liebowitz, MR, Lydiard, RB, Pitts, CD. Paroxetine treatment of generalized social phobia (social anxiety disorder). JAMA. 1998;280:708713.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Van Ameringen, MA, Lane, RM, Walker, JR, et al.Sertraline treatment of generalized social phobia: a 20-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158:275281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Bouwer, C, Stein, DJ. Use of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram in the treatment of generalized social phobia. J Affect Disord. 1998;49:7982.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Lepola, UM, Koponen, H, Leinonen, E. Citalopram in the treatment of social phobia: a report of three cases. Pharmacopsychiatry (Berl). 1994;27:186188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Simon, NM, Sharma, SG, Worthington, JJ, Marzol, PC, Pollack, MP. Citalopram for social phobia: a clinical case series. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2001;25:14691474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994:411417.Google Scholar
14.First, MB, Spitzer, RL, Gibbon, M, Williams, JBW. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, Patient Edition (SCID-P), version 2. New York, NY: New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research; 1995.Google Scholar
15.Liebowitz, MR. Social Phobia. In: Bar, TA, Pichot, P, Poldinger, W, eds. Modern Problems of Pharmacopsychiatry. vol 22. Basel, Switzerland: Barger; 141173.Google Scholar
16.Hamilton, M. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. Br Jf Medl Psychol. 1959;32:5055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Sheehan, D. The Anxiety Disease. New York, NY: Scribner; 1983.Google Scholar
18.Pollack, MH. Social anxiety disorder: designing a pharmacological treatment strategy. J Clin Psychiatry. 1999;60(suppl 9):2026.Google Scholar