Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, cilt.13, sa.3, ss.239-242, 2012 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: Delusional parasitosis (DP) is a rare psychiatric disorder in which patients develop the delusional belief that they are in-fested by parasites. Second generation antipsychotics and antidepressants can be used for its treatment. Traditionally the first gener-ation antipsychotic pimozide has been used. The aim of this article is to investigate the efficacy of second generation antipsychotics compared to pimozide in a case series of patients with DP and to evaluate the validity of DP across cultures. Methods: We have evaluated fourteen patients with primary or secondary DP regarding their demographic and clinical variables as well as their re-sponses to treatment including chlorpromazine equivalent doses. We saw fourteen patients for a six month follow up period. Re-sults: Complete remission was achieved in all patients on pimozide therapy. The remission rates for those on olanzapine were 71%, for those on risperidone were 50%. The lowest doses in chlorpromazine equivalent doses to achieve full remission were used with olanzapine, followed by risperidone and pimozide. DP was found to be a valid diagnosis in the Turkish context. Discussion: Clinical and demographic data suggests that DP is a stable diagnostic category across different cultures. Good remission rates can be achieved with first and second generation antipsychotics when compliance can be established.