Double-blind comparison of ziprasidone and risperidone in the treatment of Chinese patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ziprasidone versus risperidone in Chinese subjects with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.

METHODS

In patients meeting the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders criteria for schizophrenia and with a Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score ≥60 were randomly assigned to six weeks of double-blind treatment with ziprasidone 40-80 mg twice daily or risperidone 1-3 mg bid, flexibly dosed. Noninferiority was demonstrated if the upper limit of the two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference in PANSS total score improvement from baseline in the evaluable population was smaller than the prespecified noninferiority margin of 10 units.

RESULTS

The intent-to-treat population comprised 118 ziprasidone-treated and 121 risperidone-treated subjects. Improvement (reduction) from baseline to week 6 in PANSS total score was (-35.6 [95% CI: -38.6, -32.6]) for ziprasidone and (-37.1 [95% CI: -39.9, -34.4]) for risperidone. Noninferiority was demonstrated in the evaluable population with a difference score of 1.5 [95% CI: -2.5, 5.5]. Mean prolactin levels decreased at week 6 compared with baseline for ziprasidone (-3.5 ng/mL), but significantly increased for risperidone (61.1 ng/mL; P < 0.001). More risperidone-treated subjects (14.9%) than ziprasidone-treated subjects (4.2%) reported weight gain ≥7%. Akathisia and somnolence in the ziprasidone group and akathisia and insomnia in the risperidone group were the most common side effects. Treatment-related/treatment-emergent adverse events were reported by 79.7% and 71.1% of ziprasidone-treated and risperidone-treated subjects, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In Chinese subjects, ziprasidone was as effective as risperidone, with less weight gain and less prolactin elevation.