Cariprazine for treating psychosis: an updated meta-analysis

Purpose: Early treatment of psychotic illness improves outcomes, reduces relapse rates and should not be delayed. Cariprazine is a promising antipsychotic drug and may be a valuable resource when clinicians are in doubt if psychotic symptoms are due to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that included seven studies (n = 2896) analyzing the effect of cariprazine in psychotic symptoms assessed by the positive and negative symptoms scale (PANSS). Results: We found cariprazine to be significantly superior to placebo (Hedges' g = 0.40; 95% CI 0.32-0.49) for acute psychosis independently of primary psychiatric diagnosis and also to be superior to placebo for both schizophrenia (Hedges' g = 0.39; 95% CI 0.29-0.50) and bipolar patients (Hedges' g = 0.43; 95% CI 0.27-0.58). Conclusions: We propose that cariprazine may be useful in treating psychosis independently of nosological differentiation at the beginning of the treatment

Automated summary

Early treatment of psychotic illness is important for better outcomes, and cariprazine, a promising antipsychotic drug, may be beneficial in treating psychosis regardless of the diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.