PSYCHOEDUCATION IN PANIC DISORDER PATIENTS: EFFECT OF A SELF-INFORMATION BOOKLET IN A RANDOMIZED, MASKED-RATER STUDY P.N. Dannon, M.D. n , I. Iancu, M.D., and L. Grunhaus, M.D. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-information booklet (SIB) in decreasing anxiety and panic attacks in Panic Disorder (PD) patients. Eighty-four patients attending an outpatient clinic due to panic disorder were randomly chosen to receive paroxetine with/without a friendly- designed brochure. Follow-up was done by a masked rater after 1, 3,and 12 weeks in order to evaluate whether the co-administration of paroxetine and the brochure (Group A) had a beneficial ef fect over the administration of paroxetine alone (Group B). After 3 weeks of therapy, Group A patients had significantly greater improvement and lower scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Panic Self Questionnaire, and the Visual Analog Scale. After 12 weeks, the differential improvement was not statistically significant and both groups had improved as compared to baseline. The administration of a psychoeducational brochure (SIB) to PD patients at the initiation of therapy had beneficial effects during the first weeks of treatment. Although this effect fades away, the role of the SIB is overstressed in its ability to increase well being and compliance, and reduce anxiety and panic attacks. Depression and Anxiety 16:71–76, 2002. & 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: panic disorder; psycho-education; brochure; treatment outcome INTRODUCTION Panic disorder is a common psychiatric illness with a lifetime prevalence of 3.5% and a 12-month prevalence of 2–3% [Kessler et al., 1994]. It is a potentially debilitating condition that necessitates frequent visits to the Emergency Room (E.R.), especially during the period before referral to psychiatric treatment and during the initial stages of the psychiatric intervention [Dyckman et al., 1999; Ballenger et al., 1998]. There is also a significant morbidity toll and substantial suicidal behavior associated with PD [Weissman et al., 1993]. The treatment approaches currently reported to be useful are antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy [Ballenger et al., 1998; Dyckman et al., 1999]. Both are characterized by a time lag before significant improvement occurs. Psychoeducation is a behavioral treatment method consisting of an explanation to the patients concerning the nature of their illness and a description of management methods available for their disorder. This may be especially important in PD, where the cognitive coping mechanisms of the patients are disrupted and where anticipatory anxiety may cause additional attacks. The role of psychoeducation in anxiety disorders, and in PD in particular, has received scant attention in the past, but nowadays this topic is gaining clinicians’ and consumers’ interest. Although a Medline search has found very few publications on the topic, the issue of psycho-education is mentioned in many books on panic disorder and in many client-focused Internet sites. Attention has been drawn to the importance in anxiety management training of giving accurate DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY 16:71–76 (2002) DOI: 10.1002/da.10063 Psychiatric Division, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer and the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Contract grant sponsor: Chief Scientist Office, the Ministry of Health, Israel. n Correspondence to: Dr. Pinhas Dannon, Psychiatry Department C., Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer 52621, Israel. E-mail: dannon@attglobal.net Drs. Dannon and Iancu contributed equally to this work. Received for publication 14 December 2001; Accepted 13 June 2002 & & 2002 WILEY-LISS, INC.