Psychopharmacotherapy of panic disorder: 8-week randomized trial with clonazepam and paroxetine
Between a benzodiazepine like clonazepam and an SSRI like paroxetine, which is the better long-term strategy for my panic attacks given dependence risk?
Reasonable evidence with real limitations. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Open-label design — patients and clinicians knew which drug was taken, which can inflate between-drug differences.
In 120 adults with panic disorder randomized to clonazepam or paroxetine for 8 weeks, both drugs reduced panic attacks (0.1 vs 0.5 attacks per week at endpoint), and fewer clonazepam patients reported side effects (73% vs 95%).
Worth asking
Between a benzodiazepine like clonazepam and an SSRI like paroxetine, which is the better long-term strategy for my panic attacks given dependence risk?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Seizure disorders (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, akinetic and myoclonic seizures; absence seizures unresponsive to succinimides)
- Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia
Source
Psychopharmacotherapy of panic disorder: 8-week randomized trial with clonazepam and paroxetine — Nardi AE, et al. (2011)
Indexed peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-879X2011007500020
DOI: 10.1590/S0100-879X2011007500020
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Indexed peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 120
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "moderate evidence". Reasonable evidence with real limitations. It scores 55 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Open-label design — patients and clinicians knew which drug was taken, which can inflate between-drug differences. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Psychopharmacotherapy of panic disorder: 8-week randomized trial with clonazepam and paroxetine — Nardi AE, et al. (2011). Published in: Indexed peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1590/S0100-879X2011007500020. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is clonazepam (Klonopin, Rivotril), klonopin, rivotril FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Seizure disorders (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, akinetic and myoclonic seizures; absence seizures unresponsive to succinimides), Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.