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Combined therapy with low-potency neuroleptic levomepromazine as an adjunct to haloperidol for agitated patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Masato Higashima ,
Tsutomu Takeda ,
Tatsuya Nagasawa ,
Naohisa Hirao ,
Takashi Oka ,
Mitsuhiko Nakamura ,
Maki Kitamura  and
Yoshifumi Koshino
Masato Higashima*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Tsutomu Takeda
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Tatsuya Nagasawa
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Naohisa Hirao
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Takashi Oka
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Mitsuhiko Nakamura
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Maki Kitamura
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
Yoshifumi Koshino
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa920-8641, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Email address: mtohma@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp (M. Higashima).
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Extract

As a practical strategy for reducing agitation in schizophrenia, low-potency neuroleptics have been commonly used as an adjunct in combination with high-potency neuroleptics that seem superior in reducing positive symptoms. There is no evidence, however, that giving more than one antipsychotics at a time enhances therapeutic effects. Antipsychotic polypharmacy has been rather considered an unproven and potentially harmful practice [4].

The low-potency neuroleptic levomepromazine has been in common use for agitated patients with schizophrenia in Europe and Japan [2,3], because of its markedly sedative property. In order to clarify whether levomepromazine as an adjunct to high-potency neuroleptics are beneficial or harmful, therefore, we compared the efficacy of the combined therapy with levomepromazine and high-potency neuroleptic haloperidol with the monotherapy with haloperidol for patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.

Keywords

SchizophreniaAntipsychotic drugLevomepromazineAgitationPolypharmacy
Type
Short communication
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 19 , Issue 6 , September 2004 , pp. 380 - 381
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 European Psychiatric Association

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