Tardive dyskinesia in outpatients on depot phenothiazine

ABSTRACT

Two hundred and thirty-two psychiatric Outpatients on depor fluphenazine decanoate for more than six months were examined for Tardive Dyskinesia (TD), using the AIMS rating scale, and the prevalence rates of TD at different criteria of severity were asssessed. The prevalence rates ranged from 7% for patients with asevere TD to 45% for patients with any degree of TD. The sex distribution of patients with TD showed no bias but the female patients were significantly older than the male patients. Increases in prevalence rats of TD were associated with the combination of an anticholinergic anti-Parkinsonian drug with the depot neuroleptic, and with the concomitant use of an oral neuroleptic with the depot preparation. Implications of these finding for the long-term management of schizopherinia are discussed