Beneficial Effects of Concomitant Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics on Time to Rehospitalization in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia Receiving Clozapine
Yun Tien, Xi-Yu Wang, Shang-Chien Huang, Hsiang-Ping Huang
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the association between long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic prescription and the risk of psychiatric hospitalization in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) receiving clozapine. criteria. We examined various psychotropic regimens-clozapine with or without other oral antipsychotics (OAPs) or LAI antipsychotics. Subgroups were stratified by daily clozapine dosage and previous admissions. < .001) was found in the CLO + OAP group than in the CLO (monotherapy) group and the CLO + LAI group. Patients treated with LAI antipsychotic comedication had significantly lower HRs for rehospitalization in 1 year among 3 studied groups. Moreover, the protective effects of LAI antipsychotics were observed in all the subgroups stratified by daily clozapine dosage and number of previous admissions to represent disease severity. The combination of clozapine and LAI antipsychotics was associated with a significantly lower risk of rehospitalization compared to both the combination of clozapine and OAPs and clozapine monotherapy. The use of LAI antipsychotics should be considered to prevent rehospitalization in patients with TRS who are already being treated with clozapine.