Clinical evaluation of risperidone in Asian patients with schizophrenia in Singapore.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of risperidone in a group of Asian patients with schizophrenia in an 8-week open-label, prospective study. METHODS: Patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were recruited from Woodbridge Hospital. After a washout period, they were started on a 56-day trial of risperidone. Outcome was assessed with the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), the clinical global impression scale (CGI) and the extrapyramidal symptom rating scale (ESRS). RESULTS: The mean daily risperidone dose at end point was 5.6 mg (range, 3 to 8 md/day). Mean PANSS scores were reduced significantly from 78 +/- 15.1 at baseline to 56.6 +/- 10.9 at end point. Seventeen patients (85%) who were treatment responders, showed at least a 20% reduction in total PANSS scores at end point while nine patients (45%) had a greater than 50% reduction in the total PANSS scores. According to the CGI scale, 85% improved at end point. The severity of extrapyramidal symptoms (mean ESRS scores) were significantly lower at end point than at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone was effective in the treatment of positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.