To be eligible for the review, studies were double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trials. Participants had to have one of the following anxiety disorders, diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders criteria: generalised anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias, and social phobia. To be included, children were between 5 and 11 years of age and adolescents were between 12 and 17 years of age. The pharmacological interventions were benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and placebo. Review articles, non-drug trials, and trials not graded A or B by Cochrane quality criteria were excluded.
It was unclear how studies were selected for the review or how many reviewers performed the selection.
[A: Two reviewers were involved in the selection of the trials.]