What is the standard dose of escitalopram?

Clinical depression studies show that escitalopram 10 mg/day (both as a starting dose and as a maintenance dose) is an effective dose that compares favourably to citalopram 20 mg/day – the most frequently prescribed dose in both Europe and the US (ref.1) and (ref.2). The dose can be increased to 20 mg escitalopram if needed.

For treatment of panic disorder, the starting dose should be 5 mg daily for 1 week. The dose should then be increased to 10 mg, and 20 mg if needed (Escitalopram SPC).

For elderly patients (> 65 years of age), please note that the initial dosage is 5 mg once daily. Depending on individual patient response the dose may be increased to 10 mg daily (see section 5.2 of the escitalopram SPC).
The efficacy of Cipralex in social anxiety disorder has not been studied in elderly patients.

 

 

 

References:

1. Montgomery et al. 2001

2. Burke et al. 2002