Relapse in patients with schizophrenia: a comparison between risperidone and haloperidol.

OBJECTIVES To compare rates of rehospitalization and time to relapse in risperidone vs. haloperidol-treated schizophrenic patients discharged from the hospital. METHODS Randomized controlled trial comparing risperidone and haloperidol regarding relapse in patients with schizophrenia treated with flexible doses during one year. RESULTS Twenty patients were assigned to risperidone and 13 to haloperidol. One patient from each group withdrew consent and one patient in the risperidone group was lost for follow-up. Six (30.0%) patients in the risperidone group and 3 (23.1%) in the haloperidol group relapsed (p=1.00). However, time to relapse was shorter in the later (logrank =4.2; p=.04). When rehospitalized, patients in the risperidone group stayed 34.5 days (median) at hospital as compared to the haloperidol group (median of 61 days) (p=.61). CONCLUSION The proportion of schizophrenic patients who relapsed was similar in both groups; However, time to relapse was shorter in the haloperidol-treated patients.