LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF PANIC DISORDER TREATMENT - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This review was designed to provide a detailed analysis of long-term o utcome data from treatment studies for panic disorder, with the goal o f ascertaining differential efficacy of the available treatments. Stud ies were included if they were published after 1980 and if follow-up t ook place at least 6 months after treatment termination. Thirty-one st udies were located. A variety of methodological problems were found in these studies, including lack of clarity of diagnosis, lack of clarit y in the treatment administered, and inadequately tracked nonstudy tre atments during the study and follow-up periods, which Limited the info rmation that could be obtained about long-term outcome. Long-term outc ome studies that closely track the additional treatments that patients receive are necessary to draw more definitive conclusions about diffe rential treatment efficacy for panic disorder. Available data suggest that there is limited evidence for long-term maintenance of short-term treatment gains in panic disorder patients in the absence of continue d treatment.