What factors affect a sufficient dose of risperidone?
Atypical antipsychotic risperidone, often sold under the Risperdal® brand, is generally used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia in adults and adolescents, and is sometimes used outside the brand to treat irritation in children with autism and mania and depression in bipolar patients. Due to the dramatically increased risk of serious side effects accompanying the use of higher or longer -term doses, the lowest effective dose of risperidone should be administered. Factors that may affect the efficacy of standard risperidone dose and that require adjustments include patient age, condition, parallel drug regime, liver health and the level of kidney function.
Adults using risperidone to check the symptoms of schizophrenia should be administered an oral dose of risperidone 1 mg twice daily. If improvements do not appear after the third day of treatment, the dose may be increased by 2 mg daily, provided at a divided dose. A further increase in the dose should be evaluated by the days after each increase up to a maximum of 16 mg per day. PatientsWith reduced kidney or liver function, half of the recommended initial daily and maintenance doses should be used, with an increase in the dose being considered less than once a week. The same alerts should apply to weakened patients and patients that are at risk of low blood pressure or for which low blood pressure would be dangerous.
Use of this drug in the treatment of schizophrenia in pediatric populations is recommended only for those aged 13 to 17 years. Adolescents should be given a single daily dose of risperidone 0.5 mg administered orally. The increase in the dose should be 0.5 to 1 mg per day in additions, preferably in divided doses. The maintenance dose may be given 3 mg. While doses of up to 6 mg were used in the treatment of schizophrenia in adolescents, no statistically significant HAVE benefits were found when using daily doses greater than 3 mg or for more than eight weeks.
Recommended regime for the treatment of schizophrenia in patients aged 65 and older is almost the same as for the treatment of adolescent condition. Due to the risks of risperidone in geriatric patients, including extrapyramidal symptoms or sudden death, when a dose of risperidone 2 mg or more is given, this drug should be used with caution. If possible, alternative drugs should be considered.