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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2005) 187: 366-371
© 2005 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Clinical implications of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores

STEFAN LEUCHT, MD

Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Munich, Germany, and Zucker Hillside Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA

JOHN M. KANE, MD

Zucker Hillside Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA

WERNER KISSLING, MD and JOHANNES HAMANN, MD

Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Munich

EVA ETSCHEL and ROLF ENGEL, PhD

Psychiatric Clinic, Ludwig Maximilian’s University, Munich, Germany

Correspondence: PD Dr Stefan Leucht, Klinik fürr Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie derTechnischen Universität München, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675 München, Germany. Tel: +49 89 414 0 4249; e-mail: Stefan.Leucht{at}lrz.tu-muenchen.de

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Despite the widespread use of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the clinical meaning of its total score and cut-off values used to define treatment response are unclear.

Aims To link the BPRSto Clinical Global Impression (CGI) ratings.

Method Equipercentile linking of BPRS and CGI ratings from seven drug trials in acutely ill patients with schizophrenia (n=1979).

Results ‘Mildly ill’ according to the CGI approximately corresponded to a BPRS total score of 31, ‘moderately ill’to a BPRS score of 41and‘markedlyill’to a BPRS score of 53.‘Minimally improved’according to the CGI score was associated with percentage BPRS reductions of 24, 27 and 30% at weeks1, 2 and 4, respectively. The corresponding numbers for a CGIrating of ‘much improved’ were 44, 53 and 58%.

Conclusions The results provide a clearer understanding of how to interpret BPRS total and percentage reduction scores in clinical trials with patients acutely ill with schizophrenia who are experiencing positive symptoms.


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