Psychomotor Performance Relevant to Driving Ability in Patients with Schizophrenia Treated with Haloperidol and Aripiprazole

Abstract

Methods : We evaluated driving ability of schizophrenia patients by using the cognitive perceptual assessment for driving (CPAD). Twelve patients receiving haloperidol monotherapy and 18 taking aripiprazole monotherapy participated in this study and the results of CPAD were compared with each other. Results : Of 30 participants, 15 (50%) of the patients passed the CPAD to be regarded as competent to drive, 3 (10%) of the pa- tients failed the CPAD considered to be severely impaired. Controlling for sex, age, education, duration of illness, there were no significant differences in the CPAD results between two treatment groups. We observed a trend that patients who received aripip - razole showed a higher total score of the CPAD than haloperidol-treated patients (55.2±4.9 vs. 45.7±8.4, p=0.080). Conclusion : There were no significant differences in the psychomotor performance relevant to driving ability between haloperi - dol and aripiprazole groups. But our results suggest that aripiprazole might have the neurocognitive advantage over haloperidol. Future study with a large sample size and diverse antipsychotics is warranted. (Korean J Schizophr Res 2012;15:99-105)