Incidence of Drug Induced Akathisia with Aripiprazole and Risperidone: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Clinicians have voiced concerns over the possibly high frequency of Akathesia that occur with Aripiprazole use, however, the existing literature is not consistent with these observations. Aim: To compare the frequency of Akathesia occuring with Aripiprazole and Risperidone. Method: A total of 60 patients were included in the study. Patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were then randomly assigned into 2 groups of 30 patients each. One group is given Aripiprazole (10 mg) and the other is prescribed Risperidone (2mg). Patients of both groups were re-evaluated on the 7th day after the start of the medication and were screened and calibrated for Akathisia using the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS) with a cut off value of 2 or more on global assessment confirming the presence of Akathisia. A sub-group, not having akathesia on 7th day was screened again on 21st post treatment day. Result: The Akathesia assessment done on the 7th day revealed the presence of Akathesia in two (6.67%) patients getting Aripiprazole 10 mg and one patient (3.34%) in the group receiving Risperidone 2 mg. Furthermore, no patients in either of the sub-groups had Akathesia when assessed on 21st post treatment day. Conclusion: The frequency of Akathesia occuring with Aripiprazole is comparable to that with Risperidone and is considered low.