The Journal of clinical psychiatry
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Safety and efficacy of levetiracetam for patients with panic disorder: results of an open-label, fixed-flexible dose study.
To examine the safety and efficacy of the anticonvulsant levetiracetam in the treatment of patients with panic disorder. ⋯ Given its favorable pharmacokinetics, side effect profile, and, if confirmed, early onset of action and efficacy, levetiracetam might represent significant progress in the pharmacologic management of panic disorder.
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Reliable, valid, user-friendly measurement is necessary to successfully implement an outcomes evaluation program in clinical practice. Self-report questionnaires, which generally correlate highly with clinician ratings, are a cost-effective assessment option. However, even self-administered questionnaires can be burdensome to patients because many are lengthy. Consequently, we developed and determined the reliability and validity of ultra-brief, single-item assessments of 3 domains important to consider when treating depressed patients: symptom severity, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life. ⋯ These studies provide evidence of the reliability and validity of single-item measures of symptom severity, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life. Very brief measures, such as the ones described in the present report, are not burdensome for patients to complete and can be easily incorporated into a busy clinical practice in order to collect data on treatment effectiveness.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A practical clinical trial comparing haloperidol, risperidone, and olanzapine for the acute treatment of first-episode nonaffective psychosis.
Randomized controlled drug trials have demonstrated that antipsychotic medication is effective to rapidly improve psychotic symptomatology in first-episode psychosis. However, these results may not be generalizable to routine clinical practice. We evaluated the effectiveness, tolerability, and safety of olanza-pine, risperidone, and haloperidol in individuals with first-episode nonaffective psychosis who are representative of clinical practice and who are treated in routine clinical settings. ⋯ Relatively low doses of haloperidol, risperidone, and olanzapine are equally effective for the acute treatment of first-episode nonaffective psychosis under usual conditions of real clinical practice.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Switching to olanzapine after unsuccessful treatment with risperidone during the first episode of schizophrenia: an open-label trial.
The efficacy and safety of switching to olanzapine were investigated in patients with first-episode schizophrenia who failed to attain an adequate clinical response to an initial therapeutic trial of risperidone (2-6 mg/day for 12 weeks). ⋯ Although we cannot draw any conclusion from a study without a control group, favorable outcomes and good tolerance were observed after switching to olanzapine from risperidone in our population. In addition, factors that predicted a good overall response included a relative absence of positive symptoms at baseline and the percentage reduction in total BPRS score at 4 weeks of treatment. Double-blind, crossover trials are needed to confirm these observations.