Effectiveness and Safety of Atypical Antipsychotic Agents in Augmenting SSRI-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Objective: Although atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs) have been found effective in the augmentation of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in short terms trials, there are few data on the effectiveness and safety of these agents in clinical settings over the long term. Method: Subjects (n=46) who responded to selective SRIs (SSRIs) in an initial 12-week trial were continued on SRI-monotherapy plus cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for one year. Subjects (n=44) who failed to respond to SSRIs were randomly assigned to one of 3 AAPDs such as risperidone and were consecutively treated using SSRI+AAPD combined with CBT for a year.