Randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole and sodium valproate in the treatment of Tourette syndrome

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the efficacy and tolerability of sodium valproate and aripiprazole in the treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS). METHOD: 24 children and adolescents with a diagnosis of TS from the Jiamusi Central Hospital between January 2014 and August 2017 were randomly divided into sodium valproate group and aripiprazole group according to the order of clinic visits and treated for 10 days. Tic severity was rated using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) and the Clinical Global Impressions Scale for tics (CGI-Tics) and the adverse reactions were valued using the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS) at baseline and at each follow-up visit. RESULTS: The TTS score in the YGTSS scale decreased over time in both groups while the aripiprazole group was significantly higher on the 5th day (p < 0.05) and 10th day (p < 0.05) than the sodium valproate group. There was no significant difference in TESS score between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that the patients treated with sodium valproate injection have a faster onset time than the patients treated with oral aripiprazole in controlling tics.