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A systematic review: antipsychotic augmentation with treatment refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 26 July 2006

This article has been updated

Abstract

As many as half of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients treated with an adequate trial of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) fail to fully respond to treatment and continue to exhibit significant symptoms. Many studies have assessed the effectiveness of antipsychotic augmentation in SRI-refractory OCD. In this systematic review, we evaluate the efficacy of antipsychotic augmentation in treatment-refractory OCD. The electronic databases of PubMed, PsychINFO (1967–2005), Embase (1974–2000) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, as of 2005, Issue 3) were searched for relevant double-blind trials using keywords ‘antipsychotic agents’ or ‘neuroleptics’ and ‘obsessive-compulsive disorder’. Search results and analysis were limited to double-blind, randomized control trials involving the adult population. The proportion of subjects designated as treatment responders was defined by a greater than 35% reduction in Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) rating during the course of augmentation therapy. Nine studies involving 278 participants were included in the analysis. The meta-analysis of these studies demonstrated a significant absolute risk difference (ARD) in favor of antipsychotic augmentation of 0.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13, 0.31). The subgroup of OCD patients with comorbid tics have a particularly beneficial response to this intervention, ARD=0.43 (95% CI: 0.19, 0.68). There was also evidence suggesting OCD patients should be treated with at least 3 months of maximal-tolerated therapy of an SRI before initiating antipsychotic augmentation owing to the high rate of treatment response to continued SRI monotherapy (25.6%). Antipsychotic augmentation in SRI-refractory OCD is indicated in patients who have been treated for at least 3 months of maximal-tolerated therapy of an SRI. Unfortunately, only one-third of treatment-refractory OCD patients show a meaningful treatment response to antipsychotic augmentation. There is sufficient evidence in the published literature, demonstrating the efficacy of haloperidol and risperidone, and evidence regarding the efficacy of quetiapine and olanzapine is inconclusive. Patients with comorbid tics are likely to have a differential benefit to antipsychotic augmentation.

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Change history

  • 26 July 2006

    Correction to: Molecular Psychiatry (2006) 11, 622–632. doi: 10.1038/sj.mp.4001823 Following publication of the above article, the authors noted the following: while the captions for Figures 4 and 5 were correct, the actual figures themselves were incorrectly transposed. They appear correctly below:

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Acknowledgements

We thank Bryann Baker BA, Alexander Bystritsky MD, Paul Carey MD, Damiaan Denys MD, Stefano Erzegovesi MD, Naomi Fineberg MD, Eric Hollander MD, Nathan Shapira MD and Thanusha Sivakumaran BA for conducting data analysis and answering questions related to their respective studies and to Christopher McDougle MD for leaving the individual patient data necessary to conduct this meta-analysis within his manuscript. Without their generosity and openness with regard to their study data and spirit of collegiality, this analysis would not have been possible. Dr Michael Bloch was supported through a Tourette Syndrome Association Research Award, the NIH Loan Repayment Program and an institutional NIMH T32 training grant.

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Bloch, M., Landeros-Weisenberger, A., Kelmendi, B. et al. A systematic review: antipsychotic augmentation with treatment refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mol Psychiatry 11, 622–632 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001823

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