Fluoxetine is an effective treatment for neurotic excoriations: case report

A fifteen-year-old girl with a two-year history of severe neurotic excoriations and an obsessive-compulsive disorder experienced a dramatic improvement of her neurotic excoriations after a six-week course of fluoxetine 20 mg per day. This is in contrast to most previously reported treatments, which typically were only moderately effective. The neurobiological basis for the efficacy of fluoxetine, an antidepressant that is a potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in the treatment of neurotic excoriations associated with an obsessive-compulsive disorder, is reviewed.