The article summarizes the third version of the guideline of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Task Force for the Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety, Obsessive–Compulsive and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (published in 2002, revised in 2008).

A consensus panel of 33 international experts from 22 countries developed recommendations based on the efficacy and acceptability of available treatments. The panel evaluated 1007 RCTs for treating these disorders in adults, adolescents, and children with medications, psychotherapy, and other non-pharmacological interventions, applying the standard methods for assessing medications.

Part I comprised recommendations for treating panic disorder/agoraphobia (PDA), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), specific phobias, mixed anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, separation anxiety, and selective mutism. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) remain the first-line medications, while Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychotherapy for anxiety disorders. The guidelines also included recommendations for patients not responding to standard treatments and recommendations against interventions with insufficient evidence.

This initiative provides treatment guidance for these disorders and has global validity.

Source:  The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry. 2022. DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2022.2086295