Fluphenazine decanoate in acute and maintenance therapy of schizophrenia.

1. The knowledge of the pharmacokinetic profile of fluphenazine decanoate (FPZ-D) suggested it was suitable for treatment of schizophrenic patients not just during the maintenance phase of the disease but also during acute relapses. 2. 27 acute schizophrenic in-patients (diagnosed according to the DSM III) were treated with FPZ-D, 25 mg i.m. with repeated administrations (after 2, 4, 30 days). 3. FPZ-D proved effective in all cases, already after the second day and particularly on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale items such as delusion, hallucinations, hostility. 4. Extrapyramidal side-effects, appeared in about 40% of the patients. 5. The use of the drug both in the acute phase and maintenance schizophrenia therapy is envisaged, overcoming the problems deriving from the rejection by patients of any therapeutic tool and consequently the therapeutic "milieu".