Studies of clomipramine, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and atypical antipsychotics for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder were eligible for inclusion. The outcomes of interest were treatment effectiveness and maintenance of remission. Studies that included participants with comorbid disorders were excluded.
Interventions in the review included tricyclic antidepressants (clomipramine), SSRIs (fluvoxamine, sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram, escitalopram) and (for treatment of refractive obsessive compulsive disorder) augmentation of SSRIs with atypical antipsychotics (risperidone, quetiapine, olanzapine, amisulpride) or benzodiazepines (clonazepam). Drug doses varied widely. Most studies were eight to 16 weeks’ duration (range six to 52 weeks). Interventions were compared versus either each other or placebo. Review outcomes were measured using a five-point Likert scale, either Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) or the children’s version of this scale (CY-BOCS).
The author reviewed the abstracts and selected the studies.