Epidemiological data of patients treated with fluvoxamine: results from a 12 week non-comparative multicentre study

In an open multicentre study designed to closely reflect the clinical situation, 315 out-patients diagnosed by their psychiatrist as having depression and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and/or panic disorder, were treated for 12 weeks with fluvoxamine (100-300 mg/day). Twelve weeks of fluvoxamine therapy was completed by 229 (73%) patients. Longer illness duration prior to treatment was associated with a significantly reduced rate of treatment withdrawal, whereas a diagnosis of OCD was predictive of treatment withdrawal. The main reasons patients discontinued fluvoxamine therapy were adverse effects experienced before Week 8, and clinical improvement thereafter. Age, sex, and diagnosis had no predictive value for treatment outcome; however, psychiatric antecedents and duration and severity of illness at baseline were significant predictors of disease severity at endpoint. Fluvoxamine decreased both the frequency and severity of baseline symptoms, with improvement continuing for the duration of the study. Nausea was the only symptom to show an initial increase in frequency and severity, but this subsided after 4 weeks to levels below baseline frequency and severity.