Comparisons of the Efficacy and Safety Between Jiawei Suanzaoren Decoction and Lorazepam for Anxiety Disorder Treatment in Senior High School Students

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety between Jiawei Suanzaoren decoction and lorazepam for anxiety disorder treatment in senior high school students.METHODS The 68 cases of senior high school students with anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to the Jiawei Suanzaoren decoction group and the lorazepam group, and then given the corresponding treatments. The scores of Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA) in week 0, 1, 2 were measured for determining the treatment efficacy, and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS) in week 2 was tested for assessing the adverse effects. HAMA score reduction rates, effectiveness rates, onset time and adverse effect incident rates were compared between two groups. RESULTS The HAMA scores in week 1, 2 were both obviously decreased in both two groups(P<0.001). Although the total effectiveness rates had no statistically different between two groups(90.91% vs 90.63%), the Jiawei Suanzaoren decoction group had a higher marked effectiveness rate(57.58%) and a lower HAMA score(10.82±5.80) than those of the control group(31.25%, 14.88±5.50)(P<0.05). The onset time in the Jiawei Suanzaoren decoction group(3 d) was longer than the control group(1 d)(P<0.01). The fatigue and headache incident rates in the Jiawei Suanzaoren decoction group were significantly lower than those of the lorazepam group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION Jiawei Suanzaoren decoction is safer and more effective than lorazepam for the anxiety disorder treatment in senior high school students.