Valproate for Hostility in Schizophrenia Patients

Because this piece does not have an abstract, we have provided for your benefit the first 3 sentences of the full text.

Sir: Agitation, aggression, and hostility are frequent manifestations of psychiatric illnesses, with symptoms ranging from mild irritability to marked physical violence. "The Expert Consensus Guidelines: Treatment of Schizophrenia"¹ recommends valproate as a first-line adjunctive therapy for hostility/aggression, indicating that there is a subgroup of schizophrenia patients whose hostility and aggression persist despite adequate antipsychotic therapy. Research suggests that valproate demonstrates efficacy in the treatment of agitation and impulsive aggression in psychiatric patients.^2,3 The current study was designedto evaluate the efficacy of adjunctive valproate in schizophrenia outpatients who exhibit persistent hostility despite prolonged olanzapine therapy