Victus Dosage/Direction for Use

Quetiapine can be taken with or without food. (See Table 1.)

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Discontinuation of antipsychotic therapy should be considered only after a period of at least 1 year of symptom remission or optimal response while receiving the antipsychotic agent. In patients who had multiple previous psychotic episodes or 2 psychotic episodes within 5 years, indefinite maintenance is recommended.
If antipsychotic therapy is to be discontinued in patients with schizophrenia, precautions should include slow, gradual dose reduction over many months, more frequent clinician visits, and use of early intervention strategies. (See Table 2.)

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Recommended Dosing in Special Populations: Elderly and patients who are debilitated or who have a predisposition to hypotensive reactions: A lower starting dose (50 mg per day), slower rate of dose titration and a lower target dose are recommended in these patients. When indicated, dose escalation should be performed with caution in these patients. The dose can be increased in increments of 50 mg/day depending on the clinical response and tolerability of the individual patient.
Hepatic Impairment: Patients with hepatic impairment should be started on 25 mg/day.
The dose should be increased daily in increments of 25 to 50 mg per day to an effective dose, depending on the clinical response and tolerability of the patient.
Reinitiation of Treatment in Patients Previously Discontinued: Although there are no data on reinitiation of treatment, it is recommended that when restarting patients who have had an interval of < 1 week off quetiapine, titration is not required and the maintenance dose may be reinitiated.
When restarting therapy of patients who have been off quetiapine for > 1 week, the initial titration schedule should be followed.
Switching from Antipsychotics: There are no data on switching patients with schizophrenia from other antipsychotics to quetiapine, or concerning concomitant use with other antipsychotics. While immediate discontinuation of the previous antipsychotic treatment may be acceptable for some patients with schizophrenia, more gradual discontinuation may be most appropriate for others.
In all cases, the period of overlapping antipsychotic use should be minimized.
When switching patients with schizophrenia from depot antipsychotics, if medically appropriate, initiate quetiapine therapy in place of the next scheduled injection. The need for continuing existing EPS medication should be re-evaluated periodically.