Treatment-resistant obsessive compulsive disorder: New generation antipsychotics as supplemental drugs for assuagement of intractable symptoms

Abstract

Introduction: About half of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder don’t respond appropriately to serotonin-Reuptake inhibitors. Hence, the objective of the present study was to examine that whether using olanzapine, as augmentative medication, in addition to current serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is useful for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder. Method: Eleven patients with obsessive compulsive disorder who had not responded appropriately to at least two preceding treatments with serotonin reuptake inhibitors had been assigned to receive olanzapine, in addition to serotonin reuptake inhibitor, for eight weeks, in an open-label design evaluation. Response, as well, had been evaluated by Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), as the primary outcome measure. Results: Around fifty four percent of patients responded to abovementioned maneuver. The mean+/-SD total score of YBOCS reduced significantly from 33.45 +/- 4.47 to 25 +/- 5.98, with a mean reduction of 24.56%. Conclusion: Adding olanzapine to serotonin-reuptake inhibitors can be useful in treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder.