Paroxetine: an Overview of Dosage, Tolerability, and Safety

Paroxetine is a new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor which has been extensively evaluated as an antidepressant in clinical trials and a large computerized safety database has been accumulated. A comprehensive review of data on dosage supports the recommendation that 20 mg paroxetine daily is the optimal therapeutic dose for most patients. When compared to active controls--mainly tricyclic antidepressants--paroxetine was found to have a different adverse-event profile with fewer anticholinergic, cardiovascular and nervous system events but more gastrointestinal events, particularly nausea. However, these events were not severe and did not usually lead to discontinuation of treatment. The adverse events reported with paroxetine were most likely to occur early in the course of treatment and there was no evidence of any increase in events in the elderly or with longer-term treatment. Paroxetine was not associated with excess of death from any cause, suicides, suicide attempts or serious life-threatening events. No clinically significant drug-related abnormalities were reported in laboratory monitoring, including liver function tests, in short- or long-term use. Finally, and importantly for an antidepressant, paroxetine appears relatively safe in overdose.