No results are conclusive and all are based on small, short, studies. It would be understandable, however, if clinicians were cautious in prescribing doses in excess of 7.5 mg/day of haloperidol to a person with uncomplicated acute schizophrenia, and if people with schizophrenia were equally reticent to take greater doses. Further research is needed regarding the efficacy and tolerability of the >1.5-3.0 mg/day dose range.
Effects of high and low dosage of haloperidol on the brain in relation to schizophrenic thought disorder.
The drug difference between a low and a high dosage of haloperidol was investigated in 40 acutely ill schizophrenic patients. All patients were classified as being thought disordered or non-thought disordered schizophrenic using psychometric methods. From the pool of 40 patients two groups were randomly chosen for the double-blind study, one group receiving 80 mg of liquid haloperidol daily, the other group 16 mg of liquid haloperidol daily. On 5 days during the 21-day treatment the psychopathological state of the patient was evaluated by means of the AMDP system.