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High-Dose Neuroleptics: Uncontrolled Clinical Practice Confirms Controlled Clinical Trials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Paola Bollini ,
Amato Andreani ,
Fabio Colombo ,
Cesario Bellantuono ,
Paola Beretta ,
Anna Arduini ,
Tebaldo Galli  and
Gianni Tognoni
Paola Bollini*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”, Via Eritrea, 62, 20157–Milan, Italy
Amato Andreani
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”
Fabio Colombo
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”
Cesario Bellantuono
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”
Paola Beretta
Affiliation:
San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, Milan
Anna Arduini
Affiliation:
San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, Milan
Tebaldo Galli
Affiliation:
San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, Milan
Gianni Tognoni
Affiliation:
Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”
*
∗Correspondence.
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Summary

The strategy of high-dose intramuscular haloperidol as routinely applied in a general hospital psychiatric ward to 74 successive patients, 33 of whom stayed only up to seven days, and a further 34 up to 15 days, led to a complete recovery in only six, and complete lack of change in 23. Adverse reactions were recorded in 42, severe enough to stop treatment in eight; there were three deaths. In view of this risk-benefit analysis, systematic application of this high dose strategy to get a more rapid turnover of patients is unjustified.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 1 , January 1984 , pp. 25 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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