A Comparison of Symptom Determinants of Patient and Clinician Global Ratings in Patients with Panic Disorder and Depression

The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) is a standard assessment tool that generally shows good sensitivity to change in psychopharmacology trials. However, systematic assessment has not been conducted to determine how rating decisions are made. In this article, we examine the relationship between syndromal symptomatology and the CGI severity and improvement ratings in a study of 116 patients who met DSM-III-R criteria for both Panic Disorder and Depression. Anticipatory anxiety and depression ratings were significantly associated with each CGI item. Frequency of panic attacks was consistently related to the clinician's rating of severity but was only sporadically related to the clinician and patient improvement ratings. These findings are fairly consistent during the course of treatment. Our empirical examination of symptom determinants of the CGI demonstrates that it appears to be used systematically, yet global ratings are not merely a composite of symptomatology. Its widespread application in clinical trials is well justified.