[Use of aripiprazole in the treatment of catatonia].

INTRODUCTION

Successful aripiprazole treatment of catatonia was reported in some recent case reports.

METHOD

Review of the literature and three case reports.

RESULTS

In the presented cases it was demonstrated that aripiprazole was effective in the treatment of catatonia in patients with schizophrenia, major depression or brief psychotic disorder.

CONCLUSION

Besides benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy, aripiprazole might be an alternative treatment for catatonia, however randomized controlled trials are required to prove the effectiveness of aripiprazole in patients with catatonia.