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Antipsychotic Withdrawal Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Lasse Brandt1, Tom Bschor2, Jonathan Henssler1
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
|November 2, 2020
Summary
Antipsychotic discontinuation frequently causes withdrawal symptoms in over half of patients. This highlights the need for careful management and further research into safe tapering strategies.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Pharmacology
- Evidence-Based Medicine
Background:
- Antipsychotic medications are crucial for managing various psychiatric conditions.
- Safe discontinuation of antipsychotics is essential to prevent adverse effects like withdrawal symptoms.
Approach:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the incidence of withdrawal symptoms after antipsychotic discontinuation.
- Searched CENTRAL, PubMed, and EMBASE databases up to October 1, 2019.
- Included controlled and cohort trials assessing withdrawal symptoms, excluding studies without placebo substitution.
Key Points:
- Five studies involving 261 individuals were analyzed.
- Over half (53%) of patients experienced withdrawal symptoms upon antipsychotic discontinuation.
- The odds of experiencing withdrawal symptoms were significantly higher (OR 7.97), with a Number Needed to Harm (NNH) of 3.
Conclusions:
- Antipsychotic withdrawal symptoms are common following abrupt cessation.
- There is a critical need for high-quality randomized controlled trials to better understand and manage antipsychotic withdrawal.
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