Methods | Allocation: random, no further details. Blindness: double, no further details. Duration: 6 weeks. Design: parallel. Location: not reported. |
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Participants | Diagnosis: (DSM-IV) chronic schizophrenia, BPRS (positive subscale) of 8 or more, SANS of 20 or more. N = 29. Sex: 19 M, 10 F. Age: 18-55 years (mean clozapine = 37.7, mean risperidone = 32.4). History: duration ill mean clozapine = 13.9 years, mean risperidone =11.1 years, age at onset mean clozapine = 23.7, mean risperidone = 21.3. Setting: not reported. |
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Interventions |
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Outcomes | Mental State: BPRS total score, BPRS positive subscore, SANS. Adverse effects: EPS (use of antiparkinson medication, Simpson Angus Scale), laboratory (prolactin) |
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Notes | ||
Risk of bias | ||
Bias | Authors’ judgement | Support for judgement |
Adequate sequence generation? | Unclear risk | Random, no further details. |
Allocation concealment? | Unclear risk | No further details. |
Blinding? subjective outcomes |
Unclear risk | Double, no further details. Whether blinding was successful has not been examined, but the compounds differ quite substantially in side effects. This can be a problem for blinding |
Blinding? objective outcomes |
Low risk | Objective outcomes such as laboratory measures or death are unlikely to have been much affected by problems of blinding |
Incomplete outcome data addressed? All outcomes |
High risk | Data on subjects leaving the study early were not available. |
Free of selective reporting? | High risk | Exclusion of 5 participants after randomisation, incomplete information |
Free of other bias? | Unclear risk | One of the authors is an employee of a pharmaceutical company producing olanzapine |