A Randomized Controlled Trial of Venlafaxine ER Versus Placebo in Pediatric Social Anxiety Disorder

The objective of the randomized, masked controlled trial conducted in 48 academic & community centers in the United States was to evaluate the efficacy of venlafaxine ER in children & adolescents with generalized social anxiety disorder. A volunteer sample of 293 outpatients participated. Compared with placebo, intent-to-treat random regression analyses indicated a statistically significant advantage for venlafaxine ER on the Social Anxiety Scale, child or adolescent version. Three venlafaxine ER & no placebo patients developed treatment-emergent suicidality; there were no completed suicides. (25 refs.)