A multicentre study on the efficacy and safety of individualized dosage of haloperidol (Haldol) in refractory chronic psychotics.

This study was carried out on 38 chronic refractory psychotic patients who received partial multimodal treatment with individually adapted doses of Haldol. The study was based on: --Howard's experiences: more than half of his chronic psychotic patients were able to leave the State Hospital because of the multimodal treatment with high individualized doses of Haldol; -Paquay and Tanghe's experiences: one-fourth to more than one-half of their chronic refractory patients showed remarkable improvement with a partial multimodal treatment. This study shows that improvement is obtained in more than 2 out of 3 cases, thus proving that the best results are obtained when an adequate selection of the patients is made. As side-effects, above all, the extrapyramidal symptoms are possible. However, their frequency and intensity are not higher than those provoked by other incisive neuroleptics or conventional doses of Haldol. Special attention should be given to any pseudodepression or neurovegetative reactions. The individualization of the doses should be carefully done.