Acute panicogenic, anxiogenic and dissociative effects of carbon dioxide inhalation in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Increased anxiety and panic to inhalation of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) has been described in patients with anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder, compared to healthy subjects. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been hypothesised to resemble panic disorder and is currently classified as an anxiety disorder in DSM-IV. However, there are only very few data available about the sensitivity of patients with PTSD to CO(2).