Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents.

The introduction of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been a major advance in pediatric psychiatry, while contemporary advances in the understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) phenomenon in children have facilitated its identification and treatment. Currently, fluvoxamine and sertraline are the only SSRIs that have received FDA approval for the treatment of childhood OCD. The purpose of this article is to review the safety and efficacy of SSRIs in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents.