Long-term safety of ziprasidone in schizophrenic patients: an open trial

The Authors report the safety results of the extension phase of three multicenter, phase III studies, which evaluated ziprasidone in schizophrenic patients switching from another antipsychotic agent or who required a transition from intramuscular to oral ziprasidone.

A total of 331 patients were evaluated, with a mean follow-up of 22 months (range: 3-73 months).

Ziprasidone appeared well tolerated; most adverse events were of mild or moderate severity. No new safety or tolerability issues emerged. However, the authors observed a high number of withdrawals, possibly associated with a lack of long-term compliance, which is a common feature in schizophrenic patients.