Follow-up Study of Patients With Panic Disorder

To the Editor.—  We read with interest the article by Nagy and colleagues¹ concerning the long-term follow-up of patients treated with alprazolam and behavior therapy. Our experience in a similar group of patients leads us to concur with their conclusions.

Patients and Methods.—  Forty-two patients who were treated with Pharmacotherapy were interviewed 12 months after the start of treatment. All patients participated in the Cross National Collaborative Panic Study (Australian site) and met the DSM-III criteria for panic disorders or agoraphobia with panic attacks. Other diagnostic, inclusion, and exclusion criteria have been described elsewhere.² All participants were given similar information about their illness and its treatment. Of 42 patients, 14 received adjunctive behavioral treatment in which their therapists included two of the authors (F.K.J. and G.D.B.). This treatment involved a combination of individual and group "in vivo" exposure, cognitive behavior therapy, and relaxation training. Clinical assessment at 12