A multicentre placebo-controlled trial comparing the efficacy of mianserin and chlordiazepoxide in general practice patients with primary anxiety

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Abstract
In a double-blind multicenter trial in general practice, 144 patients with primary anxiety received daily treatment with mianserin or chlordiazepoxide, 30-60 mg, or placebo. There were no statistically significant differences in efficacy between the 3 treatments in the 106 patients who completed the 6-wk trial. There was a substantial trend in favor of mianserin (P = 0.1), but not chlordiazepoxide, over placebo as assessed by the difference in overall improvement on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. This trend may be clinically significant since more patients dropped out from the placebo group because of lack of effect or deterioration than did from the active treatment groups, particularly during the latter part of the trial. Side effects occurred to a similarly low extent with all treatments, except that mianserin caused more weight gain and, initially, more drowsiness than placebo, while placebo produced more nausea and vomiting. Taken together with the evidence from previous trials in patients with anxiety, these results support the notion that mianserin has anxiolytic properties.