title: Prescription patterns of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in mental hospitals in Tashkent/Uzbekistan and in four German cities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little is known about psychopharmacological prescription practice in low-income countries. The present study aimed for an analysis of pharmacological treatment strategies for inpatients with schizophrenia in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, facing a low-income situation as compared with four German cities in a high-income Western situation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional quantitative survey of age, gender, diagnoses, and psychotropic medication of 845 urban psychiatric inpatients of the Tashkent psychiatric hospital and of 922 urban psychiatric inpatients in four German cities on 1 day in October 2008. We compared the current treatment strategies for specific diagnostic categories between the two settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In Tashkent, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were treated with clozapine (66%), haloperidol (62%), or both (44%). More than one-third of the patients treated for schizophrenia were prescribed amitriptyline. The usual treatment strategy for schizophrenia was the combination of two or more antipsychotics (67%). In German cities, the preferred antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia were olanzapine (21%), clozapine (20%), quetiapine (17%), risperidone (17%), and haloperidol (14%); the most common treatment strategy for patients with schizophrenia was the combination of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines; 44% of the patients were treated with two or more antipsychotics at a time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In both settings, psychotropic combination treatments are common for the treatment of schizophrenia contrasting current guideline recommendations. Its rationale and effectiveness needs to be tested in further studies.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. adrian.mundt@charite.de
authors: Adrian P
authors: AP
authors: Mundt
authors: Marion C
authors: MC
authors: Aichberger
authors: Sardor
authors: S
authors: Fakhriddinov
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Fayzirahmanova
authors: Renate
authors: R
authors: Grohmann
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Heinz
authors: Sebastian
authors: S
authors: Ivens
authors: Shakhnoza
authors: S
authors: Magzumova
authors: Norman
authors: N
authors: Sartorius
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Ströhle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014610:Uzbekistan
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines