Fluphenazine enanthate in the outpatient treatment of late paraphrenia.

Fluphenazine enanthate parenterally was compared to an antipsychotic drug (haloperidol) given orally for the "crisis intervention" treatment of elderly outpatients with late paraphrenia. In the fluphenazine group, 11 of 13 patients improved, compared to only 3 of 13 in the oral drug group (p less than 0.01). The superiority of fluphenazine probably was attributable to improved compliance with the prescribed regimen by patients receiving parenteral depot medication. Despite the advanced age of the subjects, significant adverse drug effects were uncommon.