PMID- 20849577
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110714
LR  - 20211020
IS  - 1744-859X (Electronic)
IS  - 1744-859X (Linking)
VI  - 9
DP  - 2010 Sep 17
TI  - A 64-week, multicenter, open-label study of aripiprazole effectiveness in the 
      management of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in a 
      general psychiatric outpatient setting.
PG  - 35
LID - 10.1186/1744-859X-9-35 [doi]
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the overall long-term effectiveness of aripiprazole in 
      patients with schizophrenia in a general psychiatric practice setting in Taiwan. 
      METHODS: This was a prospective, open-label, multicenter, post-market 
      surveillance study in Taiwanese patients with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 
      of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis of schizophrenia or 
      schizoaffective disorder requiring a switch in antipsychotic medication because 
      current medication was not well tolerated and/or clinical symptoms were not well 
      controlled. Eligible patients were titrated to aripiprazole (5-30 mg/day) over a 
      12-week switching phase, during which their previous medication was discontinued. 
      Patients could then enter a 52-week, long-term treatment phase. Aripiprazole was 
      flexibly dosed (5-30 mg/day) at the discretion of the treating physicians. 
      Efficacy was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression scale Improvement 
      (CGI-I) score, the Clinical Global Impression scale Severity (CGI-S) score, The 
      Brief Psychiatry Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Quality of Life (QOL) scale, as 
      well as Preference of Medicine (POM) ratings by patients and caregivers. Safety 
      and tolerability were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 245 patients were 
      enrolled and switched from their prior antipsychotic medications, and 153 
      patients entered the 52-week extension phase. In all, 79 patients (32.2%) 
      completed the study. At week 64, the mean CGI-I score was 3.10 and 64.6% of 
      patients who showed response. Compared to baseline, scores of CGI-S, QOL, and 
      BPRS after 64 weeks of treatment also showed significant improvements. At week 
      12, 65.4% of subjects and 58.9% of caregivers rated aripiprazole as better than 
      the prestudy medication on the POM. The most frequently reported adverse events 
      (AEs) were headache, auditory hallucinations and insomnia. A total of 13 patients 
      (5.3%) discontinued treatment due to AEs. No statistically significant changes 
      were noted with respect to fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile, body weight, 
      and body mass index after long-term treatment with aripiprazole. CONCLUSIONS: 
      Although the discontinuation rate was high, aripiprazole was found to be 
      effective, safe and well tolerated in the long-term treatment of Taiwanese 
      patients with schizophrenia who continued to receive treatment for 64 weeks.
FAU - Hsieh, Ming-Hong
AU  - Hsieh MH
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical 
      Center, Taipei, Taiwan. wwlin.tw@gmail.com.
FAU - Lin, Wei-Wen
AU  - Lin WW
FAU - Chen, Shao-Tsu
AU  - Chen ST
FAU - Chen, Kao-Ching
AU  - Chen KC
FAU - Chen, Kuang-Peng
AU  - Chen KP
FAU - Chiu, Nan-Ying
AU  - Chiu NY
FAU - Huang, Chao
AU  - Huang C
FAU - Chang, Ching-Jui
AU  - Chang CJ
FAU - Lin, Cheng-Hsiu
AU  - Lin CH
FAU - Lai, Te-Jen
AU  - Lai TJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20100917
PL  - England
TA  - Ann Gen Psychiatry
JT  - Annals of general psychiatry
JID - 101236515
PMC - PMC2949853
EDAT- 2010/09/21 06:00
MHDA- 2010/09/21 06:01
PMCR- 2010/09/17
CRDT- 2010/09/21 06:00
PHST- 2010/03/08 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2010/09/17 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2010/09/21 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/09/21 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2010/09/21 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2010/09/17 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1744-859X-9-35 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/1744-859X-9-35 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Ann Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Sep 17;9:35. doi: 10.1186/1744-859X-9-35.