Efficacy of long-term fluoxetine treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Ten outpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder completed a 32-week, open-label study with fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake blocker. The patients were evaluated every four weeks for obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, anxiety, and depression. Significant improvement of obsessive-compulsive and anxiety measures were observed after four weeks, with maximal improvement at eight weeks. Depressed and nondepressed patients showed similar rates of improvement in obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Overall, fluoxetine was tolerated well by all patients, and no serious side effects were observed. This study suggests that fluoxetine is an effective and safe treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, both for short-term alleviation and for long-term maintenance.