Aripiprazole in the acute treatment of male patients with schizophrenia: effectiveness, acceptability, and risks in the inner-city hospital setting

Figures & data

Table 1 Aripiprazole antipsychotic monotherapy in 10 male patients with schizophrenia admitted to an inner-London acute psychiatric unit

	Patient 1	Patient 2	Patient 3	Patient 4	Patient 5	Patient 6	Patient 7	Patient 8	Patient 9	Patient 10
Age	50	43	20	47	22	38	39	24	19	34
Estimated duration of illness	33 years	3 years	2 years	4 months	2 years	4 years	2 years	3 years	3 months	8 years
No. of previous admissions	>10	2	0	0	0	3	1	2	0	3
Comorbiditya	Asthma	Alcohol abuse	Nil	Poly- substance abuse	Poly- substance abuse and anxiety	Obesity	Nil	HIV- positive, tardive dyskinesia, cannabis abuse	Nil	Cannabis abuse
Concurrent medication	Lorazepam	Vitamin B	Lorazepam	Nil	Lorazepam	Lorazepam	Nil	Hyoscine hydrobromide 300 mg twice daily	Lorazepam	Lorazepam
Antipsychotics before admission	Risperidone	Risperidone Flupenthixol decanoate	Nil	Nil	Risperidone	Olanzapine	Risperidone	Risperidone, olanzapine, haloperidol	Nil	Olanzapine
BPRS (0–72)
Baseline	42	41	54	40	54	47	52	40	65	53
Week 1	41	11	55	13	55	50	54	30	58	43
Week 2	40	5	56	16	45	31	41	28	50	42
Week 3	41	5	59	9	44	13	48	14	51	40
Week 4b	35	2	–	6	16	11	32	–	54	29
Observed therapeutic response	No major clinical change	Paranoia resolved, improved remarkably	No clinical change	Paranoid delusions resolved	Psychotic symptoms resolved. Less anxious and ambivalent	Negative symptoms resolved. More interactive	More interactive. Negative and positive symptoms resolved gradually	Psychotic symptoms and dyskinetic movements ameliorated	No noticeable change	Overall good clinical response
Observed adverse effects	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Mild perioral involuntary movement	Nil	Drowsiness	Decrease in WBC (also on risperidone and olanzapine)	Nil	Nil
Final outcome after 6 weeksc	Improved on risperidone	Discharged home, under CMHT	Changed to depot due to non- compliance	Discharged home, under CMHT	Discharged home, under CMHT	Discharged home, under CMHT	Improved noticeably after 6 weeks	Changed to risperidone, later also interrupted	Improved on olanzapine	Continued to improve

a Comorbidity includes associated psychiatric and nonpsychiatric clinical conditions.

b Aripiprazole treatment of Patients nr 3 and nr 8 was discontinued after Week 3.

c Patients nr 7 and nr 10 were discharged home under the care of a CMHT after 6 weeks.

Abbreviations: BPRS, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; CMHT, community mental health team; WBC, white blood count.