title: Use of antipsychotics - an analysis of lifetime treatment in 66 patients with psychoses.
abstract: Only a minority of patients treated with antipsychotics in clinical studies continue their treatments throughout a longer study period. Few studies address this issue from a lifetime perspective. In this naturalistic study, we aimed at analysing the prescription pattern of antipsychotic drugs among a sample of Swedish patients with a diagnosis of psychotic illness, from the first contact with psychiatry (typically between 1973 and 1997) until the last written note in the case history documents. A retrospective descriptive analysis was performed of all case history data of 66 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or related psychotic disorders. Patients with schizophrenia were prescribed antipsychotic medication more than 90% of the time. Each patient generally had been prescribed several (up to 16) different antipsychotic drugs and a quarter of the patients had been prescribed two or more antipsychotics for a third of their prescription time. Patients with psychosis were exposed to a cumulatively growing number of antipsychotics. Various factors, including clinician and patient expectations, and specific strengths and limitations of available antipsychotics may account for frequent medication changes over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. erik.jonsson@ki.se
authors.forename: Erik G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Jönsson
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saetre
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vares
authors.forename: Pontus
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strålin
authors.forename: Sten
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levander
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lindström
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058633:Antipyretics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D058633:Antipyretics