Anxiety and panic disorder: First-line pharmacotherapy

Anxiety and panic disorders are common psychiatric illnesses, but real-world data on first-line pharmacotherapy outcomes from Indian tertiary care settings remain limited. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate prescribing patterns, efficacy, safety, and tolerability of first-line pharmacotherapy in 40 newly diagnosed patients with anxiety or panic disorder. Anxiety disorder accounted for 72.5% of cases, and SSRIs alone or combined with benzodiazepines were the most frequently prescribed treatment regimens. Favorable clinical outcomes were observed in 77.5% of patients, while adverse drug reactions were predominantly mild and did not require treatment discontinuation. Thus, SSRI-based first-line pharmacotherapy demonstrated good efficacy and tolerability, supporting guideline-based management of anxiety and panic disorders.