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CompletedNCT00000381Updated Jan 8, 2014

Fluoxetine for Anxious Children

A Phase 3 interventional study of Fluoxetine in Anxiety Disorders, sponsored by University of Pittsburgh. Completed. Open to participants aged 8 Years to 17 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-01-08.

Sponsored by University of Pittsburgh · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
8 Years to 17 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to see if it is safe and effective to use fluoxetine to treat children and adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents, and can cause disturbances in the child's school, social, and family lives. Having an anxiety disorder puts a child at risk for depression and drug abuse, and appears to continue into adulthood. There is very little information on anxiety medications for children.

Children will be assigned randomly (like tossing a coin) to receive either fluoxetine or an inactive placebo for 12 weeks. Each child will be monitored for symptoms and side effects throughout the study. He/she will have blood tests at Weeks 4, 8, and 12 to measure drug levels in the blood. The study will last for 12 weeks.

A child is eligible for this study if he/she:

Is 8 to 17 years old and has anxiety disorder.

A child will not be eligible for this study if he/she:

Has current major depression, panic disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, or abuses alcohol or drugs.

Read the detailed description

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of fluoxetine as a treatment for children and adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Anxiety disorders are among the most common childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders and are often associated with academic, social, and family morbidity. These disorders frequently increase the risk for developing other psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, substance abuse), aggregate in families, and appear to continue into adulthood. Except for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there are very few pharmacological treatment studies for childhood anxiety disorders. Given the sparsity and methodological problems of previous anxiety pharmacological studies, it is clear that further investigation of the use of pharmacological treatment of children and adolescents with these disorders is needed.

Patients are randomized to receive either fixed-dose fluoxetine or placebo for 12 weeks. Patients are assessed for psychiatric symptomatology, functional status, and side effects. In addition, to assess attainment of steady state and compliance with treatment, plasma levels of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine are measured at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. To standardize the treatment protocol and to assure that both groups (fluoxetine and placebo) receive equivalent nonpharmacological treatment, a manual is used. Potential predictors of clinical response (such as age, sex, duration and severity of anxiety, school absenteeism, sub-syndromal depressive symptoms, family history of anxiety or mood disorders) are explored.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anxiety Disorders

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Keywords

  • Adolescence
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Child
  • Female
  • Fluoxetine
  • Male
  • Placebos
  • Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors
  • Anxiety Disorders -- *drug therapy
  • Fluoxetine -- *therapeutic use
  • Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors -- *therapeutic use
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In context

Anxiety Disorders

4,864 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,388 are open to participants now.

Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Pittsburgh is the lead sponsor of 1,384 studies on the registry; 166 are open to participants now.

Of its 8 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (50%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
8 Years to 17 Years
Sexes eligible
All

Inclusion criteria

-

Patients must have:

Generalized anxiety disorder.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Excluded:

Patients with current major depression, as well as patients with panic and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

-

Excluded:

Current substance abuse.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Masking
Double

Interventions

  • DrugFluoxetine
06

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

07

References and documents

Publications

  • Birmaher B, Axelson DA, Monk K, Kalas C, Clark DB, Ehmann M, Bridge J, Heo J, Brent DA. Fluoxetine for the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003 Apr;42(4):415-23. doi: 10.1097/01.CHI.0000037049.04952.9F. PubMed 12649628 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 8, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00000381
Lead sponsor
University of Pittsburgh
Collaborators
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Responsible party
Boris Birmaher, MD (Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 3, 1999
Start date
Jun 1997
Primary completion
May 2003
Completion
May 2003
Last update
Jan 8, 2014

Study contacts

Boris Birmaher, MD
principal investigator
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2005. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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