A recent systemic review assessed the efficacy and acceptability of the different types of antidepressants and benzodiazepines for the treatment of panic disorder (PD) in adult patients.

It explored PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines for the treatment of PD. 

The observations were as follows-

• The network meta-analysis comprised 42 RCTs, including a comparison of 11 interventions.
• Escitalopram, venlafaxine, and benzodiazepines showed greater efficacy and acceptability than the placebo. 
• Imipramine also demonstrated its efficacy and tolerance but the results were restricted to a small sample size. 
• Moreover, paroxetine, sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram and clomipramine showed more efficacy, although the acceptability of paroxetine and sertraline was significantly less tolerated than benzodiazepines. 
• Interestingly, reboxetine and fluvoxamine displayed nearly the same efficacy as the placebo.

This systematic review of antidepressants and benzodiazepines for the treatment of PD proved that Escitalopram and venlafaxine as well as benzodiazepines are effective choices of treatment for PD with relatively good acceptability.

Asian Journal of Psychiatry. 2021;60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102664.