Tolerability of Paliperidone in Inpatients

Abstract

Introduction As we know antipsychotic drugs are associated with the presence of side effects thar impair adherence, the course of the disease and the patient's functionality. Besides drug efficacy, tolerability is a factor which we consider in the choice of treatment. Materials and Methods Descriptive cross-sectional study of inpatients between June and September 2014 in treatment with paliperidone and with any psychiatric diagnosis according to the diagnostic criteria Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). To evaluate the presence of side effects we use the UKU (Udvalg fur Kliniske Undersogelser), which is a comprehensive measure of side effects of psychotropic drugs. It consist of 54 items grouped into psychological, neurological, autonomic and other symptoms. Results 18 patients (12 men and 6 women) were included. The average age was 37 years. 16 patients (88.8%) had a diagnosis of Tr. psychotic and 2 of them (11.1%) Tr. personality. 8 patients had started treatment with oral paliperdione two weeks before evaluation, while the remaining 10 patients had longer treatment (mean 9.4 months). Symptoms found in the psychic area were astenia, lassitude, fatigability, decreased sleep duration and emotional indifference. No symptoms were described in the neurological area. Among the autonomic effects: increased sweating and inside the area “others”: decreased sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and weight loss. All of them were obtained as slight maximum score. Conclusions These data give us guidance on the tolerability profile of oral paliperidone short to medium term. The values obtained in the UKU scale indicate good tolerability of the treatment.