What factors affect the sufficient dose of quetiapine?
Quetiapine is a member of the class of drugs known as atypical antipsychotics. It has been approved to treat symptoms of bipolar disorders and symptoms of schizophrenia and becomes widely prescribed for a number of psychiatric uses outside the designation. Because the side effects of quetiapine may be relatively serious and tend to increase with increasing dose levels, it is important to administer the smallest sufficient dose after the shortest possible time. The factors that must be treated in determining a reasonable dose of quetiapine include the patient's age, the condition to be treated, the form of the drug used, the damage to the liver or the kidneys, and the concurrent use of certain drugs.
When using quetiapine to treat symptoms of schizophrenia, the standard dose for adult Quetiapin 300 mg once daily prolonged release tablets or 25 to 50 mg twice or three times a day for instant release tablets. In geriatric patients, the standard dose with immediate release is 25 mg once a day, although medicines should not beuse in patients suffering from dementia. When starting treatment, the use of immediate release tablet is preferred as it allows doctors to better determine when an increase in dose is needed by 25 to 50 mg. Although most patients have been reported that the maximum clinical effect is 300 mg per day, doses of up to 750 mg per day may be used.
The dosage dosage standard for the treatment of bipolar disorder - either alone or in combination with other medicines - is higher than the treatment of schizophrenia symptoms. In the treatment of mania, the dose of quetiapine with immediate release of 50 mg twice daily should be used at first, while a 50 mg dose provided once a day should be used to treat depressive episodes. Quetiapine doses should not exceed 800 mg daily for Mania or 600 mg per day for depression.
There are several interactions of quetiapine drugs that require dose adjustments or use of alternative drugs. BEventually used medicines such as phenytoin increase the ability of the liver to metabolize quetiapine due to its effects on the Ezy Cytochrome 450, as well as many other drugs. If the patient uses cytochrome 450 inductors, greater doses of quetiapine may be required. Ending the therapy with cytochrome 450 may result in overdose, unless the quetiapine dose is reduced for compensation. Because of this risk, it may be best to avoid a combination of quetiapine with any drugs that affect the level of this liver enzyme.