Propranolol treatment of chronically hospitalized aggressive patients

Violent behavior in psychiatric patients may result in long-term hospitaliz ation. There is no FDA-approved psychopharmacologic treatment for aggressio n. In this study, 20 chronically aggressive hospitalized patients were admi nistered 1 week of placebo followed by an open trial of increasing doses of propranolol. Patients who had an equivocal or definite clinical response w ere entered into art open add-on double-blind discontinuation study phase. Aggressive behavior was objectively documented throughout the study. After the open phase of the study, 7 patients had a greater than 50% decrease in aggressive behavior. Four patients entered the double-blind discontinuation phase. The clinical course of 3 of those patients was consistent with the positive response to propranolol. The results of this study are consistent with a therapeutic effect of propranolol in some patients with aggressive b ehavior. Further studies are indicated.