Rapid dose escalation with quetiapine: a pilot study.

The original dosing recommendations for quetiapine in the treatment of schizophrenia suggested escalation to 400 mg/d using the following schedule, administered twice daily in divided doses: Day 1, 50 mg; Day 2, 100 mg; Day 3, 200 mg; Day 4, 300 mg; Day 5, 400 mg. In practice, however, clinicians often exceed these recommendations because of the need to obtain a therapeutic response in patients with psychosis as quickly as possible. This study was designed to determine a faster tolerable dosage-escalation schedule for quetiapine in acutely ill, hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. In this multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind pilot study, adult patients were randomly assigned to escalation schedules that would achieve a target dosage of 400 mg/d in either 5, 3, or 2 days. Safety and tolerability were assessed by interviews, physical examinations and vital signs, laboratory tests, and electrocardiograms. The enrolled population consisted of 69 patients who were randomized to 1 of the 3 dose-escalation schedules. Treatment-related adverse events were few among the 67 evaluable patients, with most rated as mild in intensity. Among 69 enrolled patients, only 3 withdrew because of an adverse event (agitation). Objective assessments and adverse events were similar between the 3 groups. In this study of patients with acute schizophrenia, quetiapine dosage was increased to 400 mg/d in 5, 3, and 2 days with similar safety and tolerability, suggesting that escalation to therapeutically effective dosages can be accomplished in less than 5 days.