Due to the episodic and chronic nature of bipolar disorder, maintenance therapy represents a critical part of treatment. However, there is a paucity of studies comparing effectiveness of available long-term treatments. In this chapter, the efficacy and safety of pharmacological treatments for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder, as deriving from the results of randomized controlled trials, will be critically reviewed. These include second-generation antipsychotics aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone long-acting injection, ziprasidone, paliperidone, and mood stabilizers lamotrigine, lithium, valproate, carbamazepine, and oxcarbazepine. In general, if a patient has responded satisfactorily to a certain drug during the acute phase, the same treatment should be maintained during maintenance treatment. This was confirmed in two randomized controlled trials. This chapter summarizes the characteristics of the placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials for all the antipsychotics used for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder.
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