Very high dose loxapine in refractory schizophrenic patients

Abstract

Three chronic, treatment-refractory schizophrenic patients who dramatically improved when placed on very high doses of the antipsychotic loxapine (300-500 mg/day) were described. Numbness transiently appeared in 2 patients at very high doses of loxapine; it may be a frequently occurring but unreported side effect. the relative lack of serious side effects to very high dose loxapine suggests that this may be a useful intervention in carefully selected refractory patients. Controlled studies should be done to elucidate the benefit to risk ratio.