Assessment of strategies for switching patients from olanzapine to risperidone: a randomized, open-label, rater-blinded study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In clinical practice, physicians often need to change the antipsychotic medications they give to patients because of an inadequate response or the presence of unacceptable or unsafe side effects. However, there is a lack of consensus in the field as to the optimal switching strategy for antipsychotics, especially with regards to the speed at which the dose of the previous antipsychotic should be reduced. This paper assesses the short-term results of strategies for the discontinuation of olanzapine when initiating risperidone.

Methods

In a 6-week, randomized, open-label, rater-blinded study, patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, on a stable drug dose for more than 30 days at entry, who were intolerant of or exhibiting a suboptimal symptom respons

SUBMITTER: Ganguli R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2474645 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature