Relieving Anxiety Neurosis: Ketazolam or Diazepam? Both are equally well tolerated and efficacious

In this double-blind study, 52 patients with mild to moderate anxiety neurosis were randomly assigned to receive, for 4 weeks, diazepam 5mg tid (27 patients) or ketazolam 30mg once a day (25 patients). Subjects on ketazolam took 2 placebo capsules during the day and active drug at night.

45 patients (25 on diazepam, 20 on ketazolam) completed the treatment. However, 9 of these did not return their unused capsules and therefore their compliance was not assessable. At the 4-week follow-up the improvement in the number of symptoms, in either treatment group, was negligible. However, both treatments proved equally effective in significantly (p < 0.001) decreasing the severity of these symptoms. No side effects were attributable to either drug.

Overall ' ... ketazolam given as a single dose at bed-time provided a clinically and statistically significant degree of anxiolysis identical to that obtained with diazepam administered three times a day.' Onycama, WP.J.C.: Current Therapeutic Research 36: 468 (Sep 1984)

10 INPHARMA* 27 Oct 1984 0156·2703/84/1027.{)()10/0$O1.00/0 @ADIS Press