How do you manage acute agitation or psychosis in patients who are already taking aripiprazole (oral or long-acting injectable)?
Aripiprazole has very high D2 receptor affinity, which may theoretically limit the ability of other antipsychotics to exert additional dopamine blockade in acute situations.
Have you noticed differences in response to commonly used emergency medications (e.g., haloperidol, olanzapine) in patients already receiving aripiprazole? Do you modify your medication choice for agitation in this setting?
1 Answer
Mednet Member
Psychiatry · Franciscan Health Systems
Answered on · Updated on
Episodes of acute agitation are considered a psychiatric emergency, and considering treatment with dual antipsychotics (which will only be temporary) should have a lower threshold of consideration. Dual antipsychotic treatment is controversial, but there are promising results as well however (Ortiz-...
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