A DOUBLE-BLIND-STUDY OF FLUVOXAMINE AND CLOMIPRAMINE IN THE TREATMENTOF OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

A double-blind trial was carried out to assess the efficacy and safety of fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in comparis on with clomipramine, a classical tricyclic antidepressant, in the tre atment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. A total of 26 individuals wit h obsessive-compulsive disorder and with no comorbid disorders at base line were included in the study. The obsessive-compulsive disorder sym ptom severity was rated using the Yale-Brown obsessive-Compulsive Scal e and the Clinical Global Impression Scale. The primary efficacy measu res indicated an equal improvement in the two groups (38% in the patie nts taking fluvoxamine and 40% in those taking clomipramine, as compar ed with baseline values), but onset was faster in the clomipramine gro up. Side effects, in particular anticholinergic side effects, were mor e prominent in the clomipramine group. The present double-blind trial confirms an equal efficacy of clomipramine and fluvoxamine in obsessiv e-compulsive patients. Although clomipramine had a faster onset, fluvo xamine was better tolerated, so that it seems more suitable for long-t erm treatment of obsessive-compulsive patients.