Background: Schizophrenia is a chronic disease that requires long-term management with antipsychotics; however, an important barrier to the success of long-term treatment is drug noncompliance, which increases the risk of recurrence and hospitalization. Second-generation long-acting injectable antipsychotics have improved drug adherence, and the pharmacological effects of the drugs, and therefore, have become useful treatment options.
Methods: We report on three schizophrenia patients who switched from oral low-dose aripiprazole to aripiprazole once-monthly 300 mg. We examined the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole once-monthly 300 mg, as well as its influence on quality of life, from baseline to 20 weeks after aripiprazole once-monthly 300 mg treatment.
Results: Aripiprazole once-monthly 300 mg did not exacerbate the depressive and negative symptoms, and extrapyramidal symptoms were improved, which may have helped improve the quality of life.
Conclusion: The results suggest the efficacy of aripiprazole once-monthly 300 mg in maintenance treatment for schizophrenia when mental symptoms are stable.
Keywords: Aripiprazole once-monthly 300 mg; extrapyramidal symptoms; maintenance phase; quality of life; schizophrenia.