Comparative study of the effectiveness of zuclopenthixol acetate and haloperidol in acutely disturbed psychotic patients.

OBJECTIVES

To study the effectiveness, frequency of administration and side effects of zuclopenthixol acetate (ZPTA) and haloperidol (HAL) in the treatment of acute psychotic disturbance with aggression.

METHOD: Purposive sampling method was employed in a group of psychotic patients with aggression admitted to Songkla Neuropsychiatric Hospital, they were randomly divided into 2 groups: ZPTA group and HAL group. All of the patients were evaluated daily for 7 consecutive days using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). Statistical analysis was performed by using the Student t-test and Linear regression.

RESULTS

There were 70 patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia, mania and acute psychosis. Thirty-eight patients were randomly assigned to the ZPTA group and were given 50-100 mg of the drug, while 32 patients received HAL 5-10 mg. The result showed a significant reduction in BPRS or CGI scores in both groups. Patients treated with ZPTA required less frequent administration than did those on HAL (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the reduction in scores between the two groups. Nor was there a statistical difference in reduction of aggression based on BPRS rating. Each group of patients showed a few side effects of mild degree.

CONCLUSION

Both ZPTA and HAL were effective in the treatment of acute psychosis with aggression, but frequency of administration was lower in the ZPTA group