Serum haloperidol concentration and clinical response in schizophrenia.
Previous studies have reported a therapeutic window (i.e., a curvilinear relationship between clinical response and drug level) for haloperidol concentrations in serum or plasma. The authors treated 30 acutely decompensated schizophrenic inpatients with a fixed dose of haloperidol (.4 mg/kg/day). After 6 weeks there was no statistically significant correlation between clinical improvement and serum haloperidol concentration. Fifteen subjects with serum concentrations of 5-15 ng/ml did not differ in clinical improvement compared with 15 subjects who had concentrations above 15 ng/ml. These data are consistent with a therapeutic plateau, rather than a window, and suggest that in most cases there is no clinical advantage to the use of haloperidol doses greater than approximately 30 mg/day in schizophrenic patients.
Kirch
D G
DG
Neuropsychiatry Branch, NIMH, Neuropsychiatric Research Hospital at Saint Elizabeths, Washington, DC 20032.
Bigelow
L B
LB
Korpi
E R
ER
Wagner
R L
RL
Zalcman
S
S
Wyatt
R J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
D006220:Haloperidol