Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
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J Clin Psychopharmacol · Dec 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyOlanzapine versus aripiprazole for the treatment of agitation in acutely ill patients with schizophrenia.
Rapid control of agitation is of critical importance in the treatment of acutely ill patients with schizophrenia. Both olanzapine and aripiprazole have been shown to be safe and effective in this setting, with each having somewhat different receptor binding affinity profiles. This 5-day, randomized, double-blind trial evaluated relative improvements in agitation in hospitalized patients who received orally dosed olanzapine (n = 306, 20 mg/d) or aripiprazole (n = 298, 15 mg/d, increasing to 30 mg/d as needed). ⋯ Prolactin increased in the olanzapine group and decreased in the aripiprazole group with a significant between-group difference (P < 0.001). During the first 5 days of randomized treatment, olanzapine and aripiprazole displayed similar efficacy profiles for treating agitation associated with schizophrenia. Aripiprazole-treated patients had smaller increases in glucose and lipids, but no difference was observed between treatments in the proportion of patients experiencing categorical shifts in these measures.