Prescribing patterns in agoraphobia with panic attacks.

Although medication is used commonly in the treatment of agoraphobia with panic attacks, the actual drug-prescribing patterns of the medical profession have not been well studied in this condition. The present study compares the prescribing patterns of general practitioners and psychiatrists in their treatment of agoraphobia with panic attacks. The medical records of 111 agoraphobic patients with panic attacks were analysed and divided into those who were referred by general practitioners and those who were referred by psychiatrists. Over all, in the treatment of agoraphobia with panic attacks, general practitioners prescribed drugs less often than did psychiatrists. They used fewer combinations of drugs and tended to prescribe tricyclic antidepressant agents in doses which generally are considered to be below the therapeutic range. This finding would suggest that general practitioners are less effective than are psychiatrists in prescribing for this condition as judged by current practice, although they are less likely to prescribe combinations of drugs--a practice which might well be to their credit.