Fluoxetine in social phobia: An open pilot study

In this open 4-month pilot study on the efficacy of fluoxetine treatment of social phobia, 26 of our 32 patients (81%) showed moderate or marked alleviation of symptoms. The treatment response seen on various self- and observer-rated scales emerged within 8 weeks and remained stable until the end of the study. The treatment was well tolerated; the commonest adverse events during the study were headache and sedation at the beginning of the study. Despite the limitations of an open study, our results suggest that fluoxetine is efficacious in the treatment of social phobia.