Combined use of risperidone and olanzapine in the treatment of patients with resistant schizophrenia: A preliminary case series report

Polypharmacy, or the use of multiple drugs in the therapy of psychiatric disorders, is not recommended. However, appropriate combinations of pharmacologic mechanisms may enhance the efficacy of antipsychotic drugs and alter the course of schizophrenia. In recent years, some articles have been published about the successful use of clozapine and risperidone in combination for the treatment of patients with resistant schizophrenic and schizoaffective disorders. However, safety of this drug combination is open to discussion. This report presents the results of a preliminary study of five patients with resistant schizophrenia successfully treated with risperidone-olanzapine combination. The results suggest that this combination may be useful. In the future, the efficacy of risperidone-olanzapine combination should be confirmed in larger study populations before its clinical application is considered.