The evidence for the effectiveness of the new atypical antipsychotic drugs was, in general, of poor quality, based on short-term trials and difficult to generalise to the whole population with schizophrenia. Thus all conclusions are based on limited evidence and should be treated with caution. Further research is needed.
However, individuals with schizophrenia may have found new atypical antipsychotic drugs (except for zotepine and ziprasidone) more acceptable than their typical comparators as, in general, fewer of them left trials early. Apart from clozapine for those with treatment-resistant illness, none of the new atypical antipsychotic drugs stands out as being more effective than the others. They all seemed to have slightly different side-effect profiles, which may have varying importance for those with schizophrenia and their carers.