[Clinical comparison between alprazolam and lorazepam. A polycentric study in double blind].

The clinical efficacy and safety of alprazolam was compared to lorazepam in a double blind randomized design involving 82 out-patients suffering from primary anxiety. Seventy four patients (37 on alprazolam and 37 on lorazepam) were evaluable. They were treated with a flexible dose of 0,75 mg to 3 mg of alprazolam per day (average final dose: 1,59 mg) or 3 mg to 12 mg of lorazepam per day (average final dose: 5,97 mg). The results show that the two drugs produce similar efficacious effects at weeks 2 and 4 of the treatment as evaluated using both patient and physician scales. At week 1, as could be expected from an average daily dose of 0,99 mg of alprazolam and of 4,14 mg of lorazepam, efficacy parameters favored lorazepam. Fifty seven side effects were reported in the 37 lorazepam patients while 61 side effects were reported in the 37 alprazolam patients.