Standard and long-acting depot neuroleptics in chronic schizophrenics: an 18-month open multicentric study.

The overall objective of this 18-month open study was to compare standard neuroleptics and long-acting depot neuroleptics following the current psychiatric practice in order to determine the best therapy. Thirty French psychiatrists from 15 different wards participated in this experiment. One hundred eighty-one chronic schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to receive one of the following three treatments: standard neuroleptics, pipotiazine palmitate, or fluphenazine decanoate. Criteria used for evaluation were an overall clinical evaluation by a psychiatrist, a Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and a Nurse's Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation. No significant difference (P greater than .05) was observed between the three groups in drug effectiveness or tolerance.