The Symptomatic Relief of Anxiety With Meprobamate, Phenobarbital and Placebo

Fifty-two pychoneurotic outpatients with anxiety symptoms were treated in a controlled clinical study with meprobamate 400 mg. q.i.d., phenobarbital 16 mg. q.i.d. and placebo q.i.d. The patients were divided into 2 comparable groups of 26, each group treated by a different psychiatrist. In the combined population of 52 patients, no significant differences appeared in the effectiveness of the 3 agents. The data then were analyzed for each psychiatrist's group separately. In one psychiatrist's group, the 3 agents were equally effective. In the other psychiatrist's group, the 2 active drugs were equally effective, but superior to placebo. Differences in the expectations of the 2 psychiatrists are discussed as a possible factor in these results, despite successful operation of the "double-blind" technique.