Yale University

Aripiprazole and risperidone for treatment of methamphetamine-associated psychosis in Chinese patients.

TitleAripiprazole and risperidone for treatment of methamphetamine-associated psychosis in Chinese patients.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsWang, Gang, Yao Zhang, Sheng Zhang, Huijing Chen, Zaifeng Xu, Richard S. Schottenfeld, Wei Hao, and Marek Cezary Chawarski
JournalJournal of substance abuse treatment
Date Published2015 Nov 26
ISSN1873-6483
AbstractWe evaluated tolerability and efficacy of aripiprazole and risperidone for treatment of methamphetamine (METH) associated psychotic symptoms in China. Patients with acute METH-associated psychotic symptoms (N=42) and with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score between 60 and 120 were randomized to aripiprazole (initial dose 5-10mg per day followed by flexible doses 5-15mg per day) or risperidone (initial dose 2-4mg per day followed by flexible doses 4-6mg per day) from day 3 to 25 of inpatient hospital stay. Outcome measures included PANSS and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale (CGI-S), METH craving Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Simpson Angus Scale (SAS), Barnes Assessments Akathasia Rating Scale (BARS), and self-reported adverse effects evaluated during treatment. Retention was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the MIXED models procedure was used to compare the groups on measures of psychotic and extra-pyramidal symptoms. Patients in both aripiprazole and risperidone groups showed statistically significant reductions in psychotic symptomatology from baseline during treatment (p<0.001) with no statistically significant differences between the treatment groups (p=0.73 and p=0.15, respectively). Risperidone-treated patients reported significantly greater METH craving reductions (p<0.001). Overall, 71% of patients completed the entire study, but the aripiprazole group had a significantly lower retention than the risperidone group (p=0.007), primarily due to medication related adverse effects. Aripiprazole-treated patients also had significantly more akathisia (p=0.03) and agitation (p=0.02) than risperidone-treated patients. Patients in both groups who tolerated their medications and completed the entire study achieved comparable reductions of psychotic symptoms.
DOI10.1016/j.jsat.2015.11.009
Alternate JournalJ Subst Abuse Treat

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