[Exposure therapy for panic disorder and agoraphobia in the context of existing antidepressive medication].

Background: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy with antidepressants are both a highly effective treatment for agoraphobia and/or panic disorder; however, a combination of CBT and antidepressants is under debate due to potentially unfavorable interference effects. The associations of existing antidepressant medication with panic and agoraphobia symptom burden and their change in the context of a structured 5‑week day hospital and exposure-focused treatment in a naturalistic setting were investigated.

Methods: Out of a total of n = 488 patients medication use during treatment was retrospectively determined for n = 380: n = 100 (26.