Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:1307-1311
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
A longitudinal assessment of haloperidol doses and serum concentrations in Asian and Caucasian schizophrenic patients
KM Lin, RE Poland, I Nuccio, K Matsuda, N Hathuc, TP Su and P Fu
Department of Psychiatry, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance 90509.
Over 3 months, 13 Caucasian and 16 Asian schizophrenic patients were
sequentially treated with weight-adjusted fixed doses and clinically
determined, variable doses of haloperidol. During the fixed-dose phase,
Asians had a slightly higher mean serum haloperidol concentration and a
significantly higher rating for extrapyramidal symptoms. During the
variable-dose phase, the Asian patients' mean required dose was
significantly lower, resulting in lower serum haloperidol concentrations at
the first emergence of extrapyramidal symptoms and for optimal clinical
response. These results indicate pharmacodynamic differences in therapeutic
response but no significant difference in steady-state serum concentration
between the two groups.
