Successful Treatment Response with Aripiprazole Augmentation of SSRIs in Refractory Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder in Childhood

The aim of this study is to evaluate the aripiprazole augmentation of selective seratonine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in children and adolescents with treatment-resistant OCD. Forty-eight children and adolescents (14 girls, 34 boys), who are non-responders to treatment with at least two types of SSRIs and CBT, were administered a 12-week of augmentation. Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), and Clinical Global Impression-Severity and Improvement (CGI-S and CGI-I) sub-scales were used for evaluation of the treatment outcomes. The results showed that total CY-BOCS scores were decreased from 33.3 ± 7.5 to 11.7 ± 9.3 (p < 0.001), CGI-S scores decreased from 6.3 ± 0.9 to 2.7 ± 1.6 (p < 0.001), and CGI-I scores improved from 4.3 ± 0.6 to 2.2 ± 1.1 (p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses in 29 patients without SSRI dose escalation along with aripiprazole augmentation have also revealed that improvement effect was still significant, and CY-BOCS scores were improved from 34.2 ± 7.9 to 13 ± 10.3, CGI-S improved from 6.4 ± 1.0 to 3.0 ± 1.7, and CGI-I improved from 4.4 ± 1.0 to 2.3 ± 1.1 (p < 0.001 for all). Analyses revealed that a significant clinical improvement has been observed with aripiprazole augmentation. Aripiprazole augmentation of SSRIs is a promising strategy in the management of treatment-refractory OCD children and adolescents.