[Efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine in hospitalised schizophrenic patients during the acute treatment phase: a PMS study].

We performed a post marketing surveillance study (PMS study) to reveal the efficacy and tolerability of orally administered quetiapine in the treatment of acute psychosis over a period of up to three weeks. 398 respective inpatients were assessed in 88 psychiatric departments in Germany by use of the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) as well as the clinical impression of psychiatric raters. Safety and tolerability were assessed by vital parameters such as blood pressure, hearth rate and weight as well as the clinical impression of the psychiatric raters. In addition, dosing, concomitant and/or previous pharmacotherapies as well as certain aspects of psychiatric and medical history were documented. A significant reduction of psychopathology was found during three weeks of drug treatment. Daily dosages of quetiapine between 400 and 1200 mg were well tolerated with a limited number of adverse and no serious adverse events. Noteworthy, more than 35 % of all patients received and tolerated excellently more than 800 mg of quetiapine per day under naturalistic treatment conditions, well above the approved maximum daily dosage. This study reflects the clinical efficacy and good tolerability of quetiapine under real world treatment conditions and is in line with the results of the controlled clinical trials of phase II and III.