ABSTRACT
Antipsychotic drugs vary greatly in potency and this is usually expressed as differences in ‘neuroleptic equivalents’. Most of the data relating to neuroleptic equivalents originate from early central dopamine binding studies (antipsychotic efficacy is, of course, undoubtedly far more complex than simple D2 blockade), and atypical antipsychotics such as clozapine fare poorly in such comparative studies. BNF maximum doses for antipsychotic drugs bear little relationship to their ‘neuroleptic equivalents’. Bearing these major limitations in mind and using the comparisons as a rough guide for the purpose of transferring a patient from one typical drug to another, followed by an early review, the table below represents the best guide from the information presently available1,2.
