Aims Little is known about the tolerability profile of Aripiprazole in the TS population. We set out to evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric and non-psychiatric adverse events (PAE and nPAE) of Aripiprazole through a retrospective chart review of adult patients seen at a specialist TS clinic.

Methods We reviewed the clinical files of 29 patients (22 males; mean age 29.7±13.0) who had been started on Aripiprazole (median starting dose: 5.0 mg; median maintenance dose: 10.0 mg).

Results Twenty-one patients (72.4%) developed adverse effects: 6 (20.7%) PAE (most common: anxiety); 17 (58.6%) nPAE (most common: sedation). Thirteen patients (44.8%) discontinued the Aripiprazole, 6 (20.7%) solely because of the severity of specific adverse effects (sedation, sleep problems, weight gain, nausea, lost appetite, tic worsening, hot flushes). When comparing patients with and without adverse effects, we found no differences in socio-demographic or clinical variables. However, there was a trend towards a statistically significant difference in Aripiprazole starting dose (p=0.07).

Conclusions The most commonly reported adverse effects of Aripiprazole treatment in TS were sedation and sleep problems. In the majority of cases, adverse effects were not severe. In our clinical sample there were no predictors for poor tolerability. Slow titration is recommended in order to minimise the occurrence of adverse effects.