Methodological Issues in a Study of Long-Term Maintenance Therapy With Quetiapine Versus Haloperidol Decanoate

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Sir: We would like to comment on the recently published study comparing long-term maintenance therapy of quetiapine with haloperidol decanoate in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.¹ On the basis of that study’s poor methodological design and inadequate statistical computations, we wonder how the authors could arrive at any valid conclusion. Comparing an oral atypical antipsychotic (quetiapine) with an intramuscular conventional antipsychotic in an open-labeled design could skew the favorability bias toward quetiapine, especially in terms of reported side effects and efficacy.’ ‹