OUTCOME OF RISPERIDONE THERAPY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PSYCHOSIS

Objective: This report reviews the efficacy and tolerability of risper idone therapy in elderly patients with chronic psychosis. Methods: A c omputer search was conducted for all patients who were sixty-five year s or older at the time of risperidone therapy at the Cleveland VAMC. D ata collected included psychiatric diagnosis, risperidone dosage/side effects, concurrent medications, comorbid medical diagnosis, and respo nse to treatment. Treatment response was quantified on a graduated sca le. Results: Twenty-six patients age sixty-five or older were included in this sample. Mean age of the group was 70.4 years. Mean risperidon e dosage was 3.8 mg/day for a mean duration of 251 days. Eighteen of t wenty-six patients (69%) had schizophrenia, two of twenty-six (8%) had schizoaffective disorder, two of twenty-six (8%) had bipolar disorder , and four of twenty-six (15%) had other psychotic disorders. Patients had a mean of 2.4 medical diagnoses in addition to their primary psyc hiatric diagnosis. Twenty-two of twenty-six patients (85%) had clinica l improvement on risperidone, and twenty of twenty-six (77%) had impro vement that was either marked or moderate. Risperidone therapy was ver y well tolerated in this elderly population with nineteen of twenty-si x patients (73%) remaining on risperidone therapy at completion of thi s study. Medical illness did not appear to be worsened or complicated by risperidone therapy. Conclusion: Risperidone appears to be an effec tive and well tolerated antipsychotic for elderly patients with chroni c psychosis.