A comparative study on quetiapine and haloperidol in the treatment of behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of senile dementia patients

Objective To compare the efficacy and side effects of quetiapine and haloperidol in the treatment of behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of senile dementia patients and their effects on cognitive function.Methods Sixty senile dementia patients were randomly divided into two groups receiving quetiapine or haloperidol respectively for 2 months. They were assessed by CGI ,BEHAVE-AD,MMSE and TESS. Results After treatment,the total efficacious rate of quetiapine group and haloperidol group was 86.67% and 83.33%,no significant difference was found between two groups(P0.05). BEHAVE-AD scores of groups respectively,both significantly decreased(P0.01,P0.05),there was no significant difference between two groups at the end of treatment. After treatment,MMSE score of quetiapine group was significantly higher than that in haloperidol group(t=2.24,P0.05).The rate of side effects was significantly different rate between two groups(X2=6.91 ,P0.01). Conclusion Quetiapine and haloperidol have the same efficacy,but quetiapine is better on the cognition function than haloperidol with fewer side effects for the senile dementia patients,such quetiapine is more suitable to treat behavioral and psychiatric symptoms of senile dementia.