Efficacy and Safety of Risperidone Oral Solution Combination Clonazepam Versus Haloperidol Intramuscular (IM) Injection for Treatment of Acute Psychotic Agitation in Schizophrenia

Acute psychotic agitation is a common problem in many patients with schizophrenia that includes agitation, aggression, excitement and violence. An investigation showed that about 26% psychotic patients were brought to the psychiatric emergency room because of the psychotic agitation symptoms. The primary objective is to compare the efficacy between risperidone oral solution combination clonazepam oral and haloperidol IM injection on controlling psychotic agitation in patients of acute schizophrenia and schizophrenic-affective disorder.

The secondary objectives are: (1) to explore the possibility of decreasing efficacy of acute 6 weeks treatment from IM injection to oral; (2) to compare the safety between risperidone oral solution combination clonazepam oral and haloperidol IM injection.

Inclusion criteria

• Men or women aged 18 to 45 years
• DSM-IV diagnosis of acute exacerbation of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders
• A score of ≥ 14 on a 5-item acute-agitation cluster (including excitement, hostility, uncooperativeness and poor impulse control) derived from the PNASS
• The total scores ≥60 on the PANSS

Exclusion criteria

• Women who are pregnant or breast feeding, or who plan to become pregnant during the study
• The psychotic agitation is caused by delirium, epilepsy, mental retardation and affective disorder; intoxication or symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol or other psychoactive substances
• Clinical laboratory values indicating serious medical illness
• Known hypersensitivity to any of the study medications
• Treatment with a depot antipsychotic with 1 cycle of screening
• Using of disallowed medication