Clinical pattern of panic attacks in panic disorder in a tertiary care hospital

ABSTRACT

Panic disorder is a major cause of psychiatric morbidity. There are no local studies on the subject although clinical observations indicate that it is relatively common. To study the clinical characteristics of panic attacks in panic disorder in this part of the country and compare it with some of the previous studies. A descriptive cross-sectional study. Psychiatry outpatients department of Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad. March 2004 to June 2004. Characteristics of panic attacks in fifty consecutive panic disorder patients reporting to hospital outpatients department were studied using a semi-structured proforma and compared with western studies. Statistical analysis was done, using the Chi Square test and p-value was calculated. Statistically significant differences were found in fear of dying, parasthesia, and derealization/depersonalization between the present study and two western studies. As there are ce rtain statistically significant differences from western studies, the study needs to be replicated on a larger more representative population