pms-Aripiprazole Dosage/Direction for Use

Schizophrenia: Adults: Usual Dose: The recommended starting and target dose for pms-ARIPIPRAZOLE is 10 or 15 mg/day administered on a once-a-day schedule. Doses in the range of 10 to 30 mg/day have been established as effective in clinical trials. However, greater efficacy has not been demonstrated at doses higher than 10 mg/day. Dosage increases, if needed, should only be made after 2 weeks, the time needed to achieve steady state. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 30 mg/day.
Patients should be maintained on the lowest effective dose that provides optimal clinical response and tolerability and should be periodically reassessed to determine the need for maintenance treatment.
Adolescents (15-17 years of age): Usual dose: The recommended target dose of pms-ARIPIPRAZOLE is 10 mg/day administered on a once-a-day schedule. The recommended starting daily dose is 2 mg/day, titrated to 5 mg/day after 2 days and to the target dose of 10 mg/day after 2 additional days. Subsequent dose increases should be administered, if needed and as tolerated, in 5 mg/day increments. Both the 10 mg/day and 30 mg/day doses have been shown to be effective in a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial; however, the 30 mg/day dose was not shown to be more efficacious than the 10 mg/day dose.
The maximum daily dose should not exceed 30 mg/day. Patients should be maintained on the lowest effective dose that provides optimal clinical response and tolerability.
The safety and efficacy of aripiprazole during long-term treatment have not been systematically evaluated in adolescent patients with schizophrenia. The physician who elects to use pms-ARIPIPRAZOLE for extended periods in adolescent patients with schizophrenia should periodically re-evaluate the long-term usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
Administration: pms-ARIPIPRAZOLE can be taken without regard to meals. Tablets should not be crushed or cut; they should be swallowed whole.
*For doses not multiple of 2 mg, consider using an appropriate strength of other brands in the market.
Switching from Other Antipsychotics: There are no systematically collected data to specifically address switching patients with schizophrenia from other antipsychotics to aripiprazole or concerning concomitant administration with other antipsychotics. While immediate discontinuation of the previous antipsychotic treatment may be acceptable for some patients with schizophrenia, more gradual discontinuation may be most appropriate for others. In all cases, the period of overlapping antipsychotic administration should be minimized.