Abstract
Background and Objectives: The clinical presentation of obsessive - compulsive disorder (OCD) is highly heterogeneous. Fluoxetine has been known as an effective drug in the treatment of OCD, but there is no convincing information about the effect of the agent on the subtypes of the illness. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of fluoxetine in treating three subtypes of OCD (washing, obsessive thoughts, and checking).
Materials and Methods: One hundred OCD patients referred to Razi hospital and two private clinics in Tabriz, were selected randomly. They were examined by DSM-IV-TR based interview. Physical and substance related disorders were excluded. They were assigned to three groups : washing , obsessive thoughts and checking. All groups completed the Yale – Brown scale before and two months after receiving fluoxetine with average doses between 40-80 mg /day. Two scores (before and after treatment) were compared and analyzed with statistical paired t – test.
Results: The results showed that all subjects (regardless of their subtypes) significantly responded to fluoxetine (p < 0.001). Washer subjects and the patients with obsessive thoughts showed better response to the drug (p-values were 0.000 and 0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: There was a significant difference between checkers and the other groups of OCD patients in response to fluoxetine therapy and the checker group showed no significant response. This finding can help physicians in treatment planning of OCD patients.