Sexual Dysfunction and Fluvoxamine Therapy

Letter to the Editor

Sir: With interest we read the study by Nafziger et al. (March 1999 issue) and their replies to the letters of Banov (December 1999 issue) and Laird (January 2000 issue) regarding the incidence of sexual side effects of fluvoxamine. Nafziger et al. claim that the incidence of fluvoxamine-induced sexual side effects is comparable with the rates of the other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, the open-label design and lack of a placebo-control group in the study of Nafziger et al. make generalization of their conclusion inappropriate and may mislead readers. In their study, sexual dysfunction was assessed by a questionnaire.