title: Post-Marketing Surveillance of Fluvoxamine Maleate Used Long-Term in Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No data on the long-term 'real-world' use of fluvoxamine for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in Japanese patients are currently available.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of fluvoxamine for SAD in the clinical setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Japanese patients with SAD who initiated treatment with fluvoxamine were enrolled in this 53-week post-marketing survey from 407 institutions nationwide. Data including rates of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and efficacy were collected. Overall improvement was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression for Improvement. SAD symptoms and treatment responses were assessed with the Japanese version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the 1,974 patients surveyed, 1,790 and 1,504 patients were eligible for analysis of safety and efficacy, respectively. ADRs were reported in 18.2 % of patients, with nausea, somnolence, and constipation the most common. Over 50 % of these ADRs developed in the first 4 weeks of treatment. Serious ADRs were reported in 0.8 % of patients and included six cases of suicide attempt and three cases of suicidal ideation. Response to fluvoxamine was reported in 78.4 % of patients. In patients comorbid with depression, improvement in SAD symptoms with fluvoxamine treatment was significantly affected by clinical improvement in the depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support the long-term safety and efficacy of fluvoxamine in patients with SAD. Most ADRs developed during the early treatment phase, and higher doses during the later phase were not associated with an increase in ADRs.
authors.affiliation: Health Care Center and Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Noth 16 West 7, Sapporo, 060-0816, Japan. asakurap@academic.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asakura
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.|Jujin-kai Oyachi Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsukasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.affiliation: Post Marketing Study Group, Medical, Abbott Japan Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosokai
authors.affiliation: Pharmacovigilance Department, Reliability and Quality Assurance Center, Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.affiliation: Medical Affairs, Medical, AbbVie GK, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kajii