Use of Oral Antipsychotics Versus Depot for Treating Schizophrenia

Abstract

Introduction

Lately is increasingly frequent the use of depot antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia at any stage of the disease. This issue is still being discussed, since the opinions of experts are occasionally contradictory without reaching a general consensus of the indications for use of depot treatment.

Objectives

Description of discharge treatment at a short term Hospitalization Unit of 160 psychotic patients, analyzing the use of oral or depot therapy for 9 months in 2014.

Methods

A pool of 160 patients discharged from January 2014 up to September 2014 with a diagnosis of Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders according to DSM-IV and DSM-5. A descriptive analysis of the number of patients on antipsychotic treatment is performed oral versus depot, making a brief description of the characteristics of patients in those groups.

Results

Pending a more thorough analysis of the data, most of the discharged patients discharged were treated with oral antipsychotics and only a minority was discharged with depot treatment.

Conclusions

The use of depot treatment in the referred unit is still restricted to poorly compliant patients and poor awareness of disease abandoning the oral treatment, despite the fact that in the current scientific literature is becoming more frequent its use in early stages of disease.