Management of behavioral symptoms in disturbed elderly patients: comparison of trifluoperazine and haloperidol

This double-blind trial compared the efficacy of trifluoperazine 1 mg b.i.d. and haloperidol 0.5 mg b.i.d. as initial doses in the treatment of behavioral symptoms associated with chronic brain syndromes and senile psychoses in 54 institutionalized elderly patients. Forty-four of the patients were followed through the entire 6-week trial. Improvement in symptoms as measured by Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scores was observed in 86% (N = 19) of those who received trifluoperazine and 90% (N = 20) of those given haloperidol. Twenty-seven percent (N = 6) of the trifluoperazine patients were rated at least moderately improved on the CGI, whereas only 9% (N = 2) of those treated with haloperidol exhibited such improvement. Marginally significant trends favoring trifluoperazine over haloperidol were observed in the ratings obtained on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation, and the Sandoz Clinical Assessment-Geriatric. The type and incidence of adverse reactions were similar for the two treatments, with sedation being the most common complaint. None of the patients developed any extrapyramidal motor symptoms.