Maintenance therapy with second generation antipsychotics for bipolar disorder : A systematic review and meta-analysis

•Considerable limitations to the evidence base of SGA for maintenance treatment.•No long-term randomized studies beyond 2 years follow-up have been published.•Almost all studies included patients with bipolar I disorder only, with patients already stabilized during an acute phase.•As adjunctive treament, aripirazole, quetiapine and ziprasidone reduced the overall risk of relapses.•Only quetiapine as adjunctive therapy reduced both manic as well as depressive relapses.