Joseph Pierre appraises a recent meta-analysis on long-acting injectable antipsychotics compared to oral antipsychotic medication for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia.
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Elwira Lubos summarises a recent review of reviews looking at the evidence for improving outcomes in first-episode psychosis.
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Murtada Alsaif reports on a new nationwide Swedish cohort study that explores the real-world effectiveness of oral and depot antipsychotics for people with schizophrenia.
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John Baker looks at the 2-year follow-up results of a cluster RCT on the effectiveness of financial incentives to improve adherence to maintenance treatment with depot antipsychotics.
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Alex Langford summarises a relatively large and pragmatic study, which provides firm evidence that the newer antipsychotic, Paliperidone, is no better at preventing relapse or controlling psychotic symptoms than its decades-old comparator, Haloperidol.
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Getting patients to take their medication as prescribed is notoriously difficult. Regardless of condition only about 50% of patients adhere to prescribed regimes. This is particularly the case in chronic or complex conditions worldwide and improving this problem has the potential to save considerable health burden and costs. Adherence in mental health is no different. [read the full story…]
We know that people with schizophrenia who adhere to their treatment are more likely to experience sustained periods of time without psychotic symptoms. However, lots of patients find it hard to stick to the prescribed medication, so doctors sometimes recommend alternative treatments to try and encourage adherence. Long-acting intramuscular injections are one option available to [read the full story…]
This year long study carried out by Medical Decision Modeling in Indianapolis set out to measure the cost-effectiveness of the olanzapine long-acting injection with other antipsychotic long-acting injections and oral olanzapine in treating patients with schizophrenia who had trouble adhering to oral drug treatment. The study used a micro-simulation economic decision model to replicate usual care. [read the full story…]
Many people with schizophrenia struggle to adhere to their oral antipsychotic drug regimen. It is thought that depot antipsychotic drugs (a special preparation of the medication, which is given by injection and is slowly released into the body over a number of weeks) may reduce relapse rates by improving adherence. This systematic review searched for randomised controlled [read the full story…]
