ABSTRACT
The study was aimed to see the effectiveness of a new antipsychotic drug, Aripiprazole in reducing symptoms of schizophrenia. It was an interventional quasi experimental study. Data was collected from Institute of Psychiatry Baqai Medical University, Department of Psychiatry Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Department of Psychiatry Pakistan Air Force Hospital Masroor, during July-December 2006 Forty schizophrenic patients, diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria, of both genders between 15 -50 years of age were included in this study. Patients with co-morbidity were excluded. After initial assessment, patients were switched over to aripiprazole 15-30 mg. Clinical Global Impression Scale, was used to measure the treatment response. Patients were followed fortnightly for a period of three months. Twenty-two patients [55%] showed a significant clinical improvement initially. Eighteen patients [45%] did not show the improvement sufficient to decide about continuation of medicine. Four patients were dropped as they did not turn up. A statistically significant difference was observed in baseline and at 12th week CGI- scale with a P value of <0.01. The drug was as effective as Haloperidol. Effective dose was 30 mg daily