Gaps in use of antipsychotics after discharge by first-admission patients with schizophrenia, 1989 to 1996.
The authors examined gaps in the use of antipsychotic medications during the one-year period after discharge in an epidemiological sample of 189 first-admission patients with schizophrenia between July 1989 and January 1996. Sixty-three percent of the patients had one or more such gaps, and 51 percent had gaps of 30 days or longer, with an average total time off medication of about seven months. Most gaps occurred soon after discharge, and 73 percent were initiated by the patient. These data, which were obtained before the widespread use of atypical antipsychotic agents, provide a benchmark against which to examine the impact of the newer medications on adherence and continuity of treatment in the critical early stages of schizophrenia.
Mojtabai
Ramin
R
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, USA.
Lavelle
Janet
J
Gibson
P Joseph
PJ
Sohler
Nancy L
NL
Craig
Thomas J
TJ
Carlson
Gabrielle A
GA
Bromet
Evelyn J
EJ
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019985:Benchmarking; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000534:rehabilitation*
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents