Combination antipsychotic therapy in psychiatric outpatient clinics in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to survey the use of combination antipsychotic therapy (CAT) in the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a general hospital.


METHODS
Patients who received at least 2 antipsychotics in the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a general hospital in 1 month (August 1-31, 2003) were identified, and their retrospective chart review was performed. Using a questionnaire, we surveyed the clinicians on why 2 antipsychotics were prescribed, why long-term CAT was used, and whether the problems were solved by CAT.


RESULTS
We studied 957 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders in 1 month. A total of 119 patients (12%) were prescribed at least 2 antipsychotics. Among these 119 patients, 91 (76%) were prescribed 2 types of first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs), and 15 patients (16%) were prescribed a second-generation antipsychotic medication and a low-dose FGA medication. The clinicians' main reasons for CAT were to treat insomnia (84%) and psychotic symptoms (83%).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study revealed that 12% of the patients received CAT in the clinical practice. Most patients were prescribed 2 FGAs. The clinicians' reasons for prescribing CAT in Taiwan were to treat insomnia and psychotic symptoms.
Huang
Si-Sheng
SS
Department of Psychiatry, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, Taiwan.
Liao
Yi-Cheng
YC
Hsieh
Yen-Yuh
YY
Huang
Chin-Yi
CY
Chiu
Nan-Ying
NY
Yang
Yen-Kuang
YK
Shen
Winston W
WW
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents