Background: The dogma of a delayed onset of antipsychotic treatment effects has been maintained over the past decades. However, recent studies have challenged this concept. We therefore performed an analysis of the onset of antipsychotic treatment effects in a sample of acutely decompensated patients with schizophrenia.
Methods: In this observational study, 48 inpatients with acutely decompensated schizophrenia were offered antipsychotic treatment with oral risperidone. PANSS-ratings were obtained on day 0, day 1, day 3, day 7 and day 14.
Results: Significant effects of treatment were already present on day 1 and continued throughout the study. The PANSS positive subscore and the PANSS total score improved significantly more than the PANSS negative subscore.
Conclusion: Our results are consistent with the growing number of studies suggesting an early onset of antipsychotic treatment effects. However, non-pharmacological effects of treatment also need to be taken into consideration.