Adverse effects of antipsychotic drugs: survey of doctors' versus patients' perspective.
OBJECTIVE
Almost no data are available on whether patients and doctors have similar or dissimilar opinions on the presence and level of distress due to antipsychotic adverse effects. The aim of this survey is to compare doctors' versus patients' perspective on the presence and level of distress due to antipsychotic adverse effects in a sample of patients under the care of the South-Verona mental health services.


METHODS
All patients exposed to antipsychotic drugs during a census period of 6 months were identified. For each included subject, socio-demographic, clinical and treatment data were extracted. Patients' perspective on antipsychotic adverse effects was measured by means of the Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale (LUNSERS). The LUNSERS was similarly employed to measure doctors' perspective on antipsychotic adverse effects.


RESULTS
During the recruitment period, 243 patients taking antipsychotic drugs were enrolled. The correlation between the total LUNSERS score reported by patients and doctors was very low (correlation coefficient 0.22, 95% confidence interval 0.15-0.30). On average, patients perceived more adverse effects and with a significant higher distress than doctors. Multivariate analyses found no factors simultaneously associated with both patient and doctor ratings of adverse effects.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study suggests that doctors, researchers and health care providers should increasingly consider patient and doctor perspectives as two complementary dimensions that may provide different insights in the evaluation of antipsychotic drugs. Integrating different points of view may represent a way to develop a better therapeutic alliance that might decrease the likelihood of nonadherence.
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, University of Verona, Policlinico GB Rossi, 37134 Verona, Italy. michela.nose@univr.it
Michela
M
Nosè
Maria Angela
MA
Mazzi
Eleonora
E
Esposito
Marco
M
Bianchini
Paola
P
Petrosemolo
Giovanni
G
Ostuzzi
Michele
M
Tansella
Corrado
C
Barbui
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians; D055815:Young Adult
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents