The influence of propranolol on the exposure in vivo of agoraphobics.

This study examines the influence of 40 mg of propranolol on agoraphobics throughout 5-hour periods of exposure in vivo on 3 alternate days. Twenty-three patients were studied using a double-blind parallel design and 19 followed up for 3 months. The propranolol group spent significantly less time than the placebo group travelling alone in the month after treatment, and had improved significantly less on a measure of general symptoms at 3 months. The adverse influence of propranolol on treatment outcome appeared mainly due to a waning effect in the last hour of exposure. Attempts to measure coping with panics as an independent variable were largely unsuccessful.