title: Treatment patterns of schizophrenia based on the data from seven Central and Eastern European Countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim is to analyze how schizophrenia is pharmacologically treated in seven CEE countries: Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychiatrists from selected centers in each of participating countries were asked to complete a pre-defined questionnaire on their current clinical practice. Information on protocols and resource utilization in schizophrenia treatment was included and derived from randomly selected patient medical records. Expert opinions on country-wide treatment patterns were additionally sought. This sub-analysis focuses on pharmacological treatment patterns in the last six months and over the course of the disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  961 patients' data show that during last six months the most commonly prescribed medications were oral atypical antipsychotics: olanzapine (n=268), clozapine (n=234) and risperidone (n=160). The most frequently prescribed atypical antipsychotics over course of disease were: risperidone (54.5%), olanzapine (52.4%) and clozapine (35.1%), along with haloperidol (39.3%). Experts reported risperidone (four countries) and olanzapine (three countries) as first-line treatment, with the same two medications prescribed as second-line treatment. Clozapine was the most reported medication for refractory patients. Approximately 22% of patients received polypharmacy with antipsychotics in at least one period over the disease course. Mean time since diagnosis was 13.1 years and on average 4.8 treatment courses received during that period. Anxiolytics (70%), antidepressants (42%), mood-stabilizers (27%) were also prescribed, with diazepam (35.4%), sertraline (10.5%), valproic acid (17.5%) the most commonly reported, respectively, in each group. The most frequently reported treatment change was switch from one oral atypical antipsychotic to another (51%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral atypical antipsychotics, mostly older drugs (risperidone, olanzapine, clozapine), were most commonly prescribed for schizophrenia treatment in participating countries. Given that results are from the first large-scale analysis of RWD, we believe these findings can be a benchmark for future real-world studies, which could contribute to the optimization of treatment for this debilitating disease.
authors.affiliation: Roche Polska Sp. z o.o., ul. Domaniewska 39 B, 02-672 Warszawa, Poland, monika.szkultecka-debek@roche.com.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szkultecka-Dębek
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miernik
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stelmachowski
authors.forename: Miro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jakovljević
authors.forename: Vlado
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jukić
authors.forename: Kaire
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aadamsoo
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janno
authors.forename: István
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bitter
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tolna
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jarema
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jankovic
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pecenak
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vavrusova
authors.forename: Rok
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tavčar
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walczak
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Augustyńska
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents