title: [Guidelines of the Brazilian Medical Association for the treatment of social anxiety disorder].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder, usually with no remission, and is commonly associated with significant functional and psychosocial impairment. The Brazilian Medical Association (BMA), with the project named Diretrizes (Guidelines, in English), seeks to develop consensus for the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases. The aim of this article is to present the most important findings of the guidelines on the treatment of SAD, serving as a reference for the general practitioner and specialist.
  
  
  METHODS
  The method used was proposed by the BMA. The search was conducted in the databases of MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science and LILACS, between 1980 and 2010. The strategy used was based on structured questions as PICO (acronym formed by the initials of "patient or population", "intervention, display or exhibition", "control or comparison" and "outcome").
  
  
  RESULTS
  Studies show that the first-line pharmacological treatment for adults and children are serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, whereas cognitive-behavioral therapy is considered the best psychotherapeutic treatment. Moreover, some psychiatric comorbidities were associated with a worse outcome of SAD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite its high prevalence, SAD does not receive adequate attention and treatment. The best choice for the treatment of adults is a combination of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy with serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Other options as benzodiazepines or monoamine oxidase inhibitors must be used as second and third choices, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Michelle N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Levitan
authors.forename: Marcos H N
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chagas
authors.forename: José A S
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Crippa
authors.forename: Gisele G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Manfro
authors.forename: Luiz A B
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hetem
authors.forename: Nathalia C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Andrada
authors.forename: Giovanni A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Salum
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Isolan
authors.forename: Maria C F
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Antonio E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Nardi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors