<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Background: Aripiprazole, a second-generation antipsychotic, has been shown to have short- and long term efficacy in bipolar disorder as monotherapy and in two-drug combinations. However, its long-term effectiveness among patients with different degrees of pharmacotherapeutic complexity and baseline mood disturbances is not known.Objective: To assess long-term aripiprazole effectiveness in bipolar disorder (BD) patients in relationship to pharmacotherapeutic complexity and degree of baseline mood disturbance.Methods: Outpatients assessed with the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for BD (STEP-BD) Affective Disorders Evaluation, and monitored with the STEP-BD Clinical Monitoring Form received open-label aripiprazole.Results: Ninety-seven patients (52 BDI, 40 BDII, 5 BD NOS, mean age 40.2 years, 75.3% female) received aripiprazole combined with a mean ± SD (median) of 2.9 ± 1.7 (3) other prescription psychotropics, with 39.2% (38/97) receiving up to triple-pharmacotherapy (aripiprazole plus up to 2 other psychotropics) and 60.8% (59/97) taking quadruple-or-more-pharmacotherapy (aripiprazole plus at least 3 other psychotropics). At baseline 71.1% (69/97) of patients were symptomatic and 28.9% (28/97) were euthymic. Overall, mean (median) aripiprazole final dose and duration were 17.6 (15) mg/day and 388 (190) days, respectively. Aripiprazole was discontinued in only one-quarter of euthymic patients taking up to triple-pharmacotherapy, but in two-thirds of other patients (symptomatic patients taking up to triple-pharmacotherapy and symptomatic/euthymic patients taking quadrupleor- more-pharmacotherapy).Conclusion: Aripiprazole treatment of bipolar disorder may be modestly extended beyond mono-pharmacotherapy and dual-pharmacotherapy to include triple-pharmacotherapy in euthymic patients, but further extension beyond current indications may not be effective in most patients.</abstract>

Background: Aripiprazole, a second-generation antipsychotic, has been shown to have short- and long term efficacy in bipolar disorder as monotherapy and in two-drug combinations. However, its long-term effectiveness among patients with different degrees of pharmacotherapeutic complexity and baseline mood disturbances is not known.Objective: To assess long-term aripiprazole effectiveness in bipolar disorder (BD) patients in relationship to pharmacotherapeutic complexity and degree of baseline mood disturbance.Methods: Outpatients assessed with the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for BD (STEP-BD) Affective Disorders Evaluation, and monitored with the STEP-BD Clinical Monitoring Form received open-label aripiprazole.Results: Ninety-seven patients (52 BDI, 40 BDII, 5 BD NOS, mean age 40.2 years, 75.3% female) received aripiprazole combined with a mean ± SD (median) of 2.9 ± 1.7 (3) other prescription psychotropics, with 39.2% (38/97) receiving up to triple-pharmacotherapy (aripiprazole plus up to 2 other psychotropics) and 60.8% (59/97) taking quadruple-or-more-pharmacotherapy (aripiprazole plus at least 3 other psychotropics). At baseline 71.1% (69/97) of patients were symptomatic and 28.9% (28/97) were euthymic. Overall, mean (median) aripiprazole final dose and duration were 17.6 (15) mg/day and 388 (190) days, respectively. Aripiprazole was discontinued in only one-quarter of euthymic patients taking up to triple-pharmacotherapy, but in two-thirds of other patients (symptomatic patients taking up to triple-pharmacotherapy and symptomatic/euthymic patients taking quadrupleor- more-pharmacotherapy).Conclusion: Aripiprazole treatment of bipolar disorder may be modestly extended beyond mono-pharmacotherapy and dual-pharmacotherapy to include triple-pharmacotherapy in euthymic patients, but further extension beyond current indications may not be effective in most patients.

Brief communication (Original). Long-term aripiprazole effectiveness in bipolar disorder patients decreases with pharmacotherapeutic complexity and degree of baseline mood disturbance

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400,

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5723,

Asian Biomedicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Background: Aripiprazole, a second-generation antipsychotic, has been shown to have short- and long term efficacy in bipolar disorder as monotherapy and in...

Brief communication (Original). Long-term aripiprazole effectiveness in bipolar disorder patients decreases with pharmacotherapeutic complexity and degree of baseline mood disturbance

Published Online: Feb 04, 2017

Page range: 537 - 544

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.0704.209

Keywords
Aripiprazole, bipolar disorder, effectiveness, treatment

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Brief communication (Original). Long-term aripiprazole effectiveness in bipolar disorder patients decreases with pharmacotherapeutic complexity and degree of baseline mood disturbance

Published Online: Feb 04, 2017

Page range: 537 - 544

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.0704.209

KeywordsAripiprazole, bipolar disorder, effectiveness, treatment

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Aripiprazole, bipolar disorder, effectiveness, treatment