Atypical antipsychotics as “mood stabilizers”: A retrospective chart review

BackgroundIntroduction and common usage of atypical antipsychotics in maintenance therapy for bipolar disorders is an innovative perspective. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of atypical antipsychotics (AA) used either as monotherapy or in combination with a mood stabilizer (MS) in the maintenance treatment.Method55 patients treated with AA either alone or in combination with a MS for bipolar I disorder which were followed up for 6 months were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical status was evaluated with Bech Rafaelsen Mania Rating Scale (BRMRS), 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI).ResultsHaving similar demographic and clinical backgrounds, patients on with both treatment groups had significant clinical improvement. During the maintenance phase, numbers of total attacks were not significantly different between the two treatment groups.ConclusionOur naturalistic, controlled retrospective observations suggest the potential use of atypical antipsychotics in the long-term management of bipolar I disorder. Larger and prospective studies are needed to determine the role of atypical antipsychotics more clearly in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study comparing MS + AA with only AA treatment regimen.