Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care

Table of Contents - August 2012 - Volume 8, Issue 02  

Original Research Article

A naturalistic study of pharmacological management of behavioural disturbance in psychosis

Steve Addisa1 c1, Diane Sherwooda2, Wendy Macea3, Serafino G. Mancusoa4, Radhakrishnan Kolotha5 and David J. Castlea6

a1 Consultant Psychiatrist, Clinical Director, Fremantle Mental Health Service, Fremantle Hospital and Health Service, Fremantle WA, Australia

a2 Registered Nurse, Registered Mental Health Nurse, A/Clinical Governance Coordinator, Clinical Trials Coordinator, Fremantle Mental Health Service, Fremantle WA, Australia

a3 Registered Nurse, Registered Mental Health Nurse, Fremantle Mental Health Service B10, Fremantle WA, Australia

a4 Research Coordinator, St Vincent's Mental Health, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

a5 Senior Medical Officer, Swan Community Mental Health Centre, Middle Swan WA, Australia

a6 Chair of Psychiatry, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore, using a naturalistic design, the efficacy of typical and atypical antipsychotics in the management of behavioural disturbance in people with psychiatric disorders.

Method: Prospective naturalistic study of 15,278 incidents of behavioural disturbance perpetrated by 1,059 patients, over a two year period.

Results: Typical and atypical antipsychotics did not differ in terms of their efficacy, overall. In terms of specific agents, haloperidol and quetiapine tended to show equal efficacy, with olanzapine being somewhat less effective on two of three outcome measures.

Conclusions: Overall, atypical antipsychotics were as effective as typical agents in the management of acute behavioural disturbance in a mental health setting. Further work is required to determine the relative side effect burden of those agents.

Keywords

Correspondence:

c1 Correspondence to: Prof. David Castle, St. Vincent's Hospital, 41 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, VIC 3065; E-mail: David.Castle@svhm.org.au

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