Table 2.
Clinical features of abrupt oral antipsychotic withdrawal.
| Symptoms | Nausea and vomiting (8, 24, 26) |
| Abdominal pain (26) | |
| Diarrhea (25) | |
| Headache (8, 23, 26) | |
| Tachycardia (23, 25) | |
| Vertigo (8, 23) | |
| Increased perspiration (23, 25, 26) | |
| Dry mucous membranes (25) | |
| Myalgia (8, 26) | |
| Restlessness (8, 24–26) | |
| Anxiety (24) | |
| Tension (24) | |
| Insomnia (8, 23–25) | |
| Hyperkinesia (23, 25) | |
| Time of onset | Within 4 weeks after discontinuation (8, 23–26) |
| Duration | 1–4 weeks (hyperkinesia may last months) (8, 23–26) |
| Proportion of individuals with withdrawal symptoms | 0.53 (95% CI, 0.37–0.70)A (8, 23–26) |
| Odds ratio (OR) | 7.97 (95% CI, 2.39–26.58; I2 = 82.7%, P = 0.003)B, (8, 25–26) |
| Number needed to harm (NNH) | 3B (8, 25–26) |
ABased on main analysis of five trials that abruptly substituted oral antipsychotics with placebo (Figure 1), the sensitivity analysis showed similar results and a weighted mean of 0.49 (95% CI, 0.26–0.73; Figure 2). Banalysis was restricted to the three studies in the sensitivity analysis with an allocation to a target group that received a placebo substitute after abrupt antipsychotic discontinuation or a control group that continued antipsychotic treatment with a double-blinded design (Figure 3).