title: Risperidone versus haloperidol in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic inpatients with schizophrenia: a randomized double-blind study.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of risperidone and haloperidol in treatment-resistant chronic schizophrenic patients. Subjects (n = 78) who met DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia were randomly assigned to receive 6 mg/day of risperidone or 20 mg/day of haloperidol for 12 weeks. Clinical efficacy was determined using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and side-effects with the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS). Risperidone produced a mean 39.8 +/- 24.1% reduction in total PANSS score compared to a mean 28.3 + 19.4% reduction in the haloperidol group (P < 0.05). Analysis of changes for the three subscores of the PANSS revealed that the general psychopathology and negative subscores were significantly improved in the risperidone group compared to the haloperidol group. As for the side-effects, the risperidone group showed a significantly lower TESS total score, as well as nervous system symptoms subscore and cardiovascular symptoms subscore, compared to the haloperidol group. Risperidone appears to be a more effective and better tolerated antipsychotic drug in treatment-refractory Chinese schizophrenia than haloperidol.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, Beijing Medical University, PR China. zhangxy99@hotmail.com
authors.forename: X Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: G Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044466:Asian People; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D018967:Risperidone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D006220:Haloperidol; D018967:Risperidone