title: Antipsychotic drug use in 503 Chinese inpatients with schizophrenia.
abstract: Objective. To determine current patterns of antipsychotic medication use and metabolic complications among hospitalized Chinese patients with schizophrenia. Method. A total of 503 inpatients who met ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia were enrolled. Demographic features and records of current treatment (medication, dose, duration of treatment) were collected through cross-sectional chart review along with biophysical parameters (body mass index and laboratory findings). Results. (1) Most patients (457/503, 90.9%) were found to receive antipsychotic monotherapy; (2) clozapine was the most common medication used (152/507, 30.2%); (3) the subset of patients treated within the course of a first episode psychosis, or with less than 5 years of illness, were more likely to be treated with second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) than with conventional antipsychotic medications or clozapine; (4) patients treated with clozapine or conventional antipsychotics were more likely to manifest metabolism-related physical conditions than those receiving SGAs. Conclusion. Conventional antipsychotics and clozapine constitute the current mainstream of schizophrenia treatment in China where a lower percentage of patients receive SGAs other than clozapine than in developed countries. The high incidence of treatment-related metabolic complications in this population suggests that these issues are under-appreciated based on current patterns of medication use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pei-Xian
authors.initials: PX
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Yi-Lang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Zhi-Min
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.forename: Zhuo-Ji
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Cai
keywords: China; Schizophrenia; antipsychotic; clozapine; diabetes; risperidone