Zhang 2008a.

Methods	Allocation: randomised, no further details. Blindness: unclear. Duration: six weeks. Design: parallel. Location: inpatient, China.
Participants	Diagnosis: schizophrenia (CCMD‐3). PANSS total score of 60 or more. N = 60. Age: aripiprazole group: 18‐58 years, mean = (32.8 ± 6.9) years; risperidone group: 20‐56 years, mean = (33.4 ± 5.8) years. Gender: aripiprazole group: 18 Male, 12 Female; risperidone group: 16 Male, 14 Female . History: aripiprazole group: 1 month‐8 years, mean = (4.8 ± 3.2) years; risperidone group: 2 months‐7 years, mean = (4.6 ± 3.8) years. Age at onset not reported.
Interventions	1. Aripiprazole: Dose range: 10‐30 mg/day. Mean = (15 ± 5) mg/day. N = 30. 2. Risperidone: Dose range: 1‐6 mg/day. Mean = (3.5 ± 1.6) mg/day. N = 30
Outcomes	Global state: PANSS score decreased rate (recovery: ≥ 75%, markedly improved: 50%‐75%, improved: 30%‐50%, no effect: < 30%). Mental state: PANSS total score. Adverse effects. Unable to use ‐ Adverse effects: TESS total score, blood and urine routine, liver function (no data).
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Randomised, no further details.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not reported.
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Not reported.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Unclear if outcome was assessed blindly.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No incomplete data.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	High risk	Although ESRS was used to assess adverse effects, no data on scores were available.
Other bias	Low risk	None obvious.