Is fluvoxamine more effective for OCD than other SSRIs?

By Rajnish Mago, MD (bio)

The number of patients that I have come across who have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and were put on fluvoxamine is MUCH more than the number of patients I have seen who were put on fluvoxamine for major depressive disorder. Clearly, there is a belief among many clinicians that fluvoxamine has some special effectiveness for obsessive-compulsive disorder. This belief is usually unstated, and the clinician may not even be fully aware of it, but it does seem to influence clinical practice.

Is there some truth in this? Or is it a “psychopharmyth”? Let’s answer this question in this brief article.