Antipsychotic use in a first episode psychosis program

Objective. To conduct a naturalistic, longitudinal study of prescribing patterns of atypical neuroleptics in predominantly drug-naive first episode non-affective psychosis patients. Methods. Patients with a first episode psychosis were prescribed an antipsychotic as part of a clinical protocol and followed-up for 2 years. Comparisons were made between risperidone and olanzapine, the two most commonly prescribed antipsychotics. Socio-demographic variables and clinical characteristics such as diagnosis, duration of untreated illness and psychosis and level of positive and negative symptoms were assessed using well-established methods. We examined the first antipsychotic given, starting dose, time taken to start and to reach the maximum dose, time on first medication, maximum dose, medication change and concomitant medication use. Results. One hundred and ninety-three consecutive patients consented to start on antipsychotic. The results are provided for risperidone (N = 133) and olanzapine ( N = 38). The time to initiate antipsychotic medications was significantly longer for outpatients than inpatients. There were no differences between the two groups for time taken to reach the maximum dose, drop out rates or concomitant medication use. The percentage of patients taking an antipsychotic agent at any given time was high ( range 79 - 91%), but half of the patients had changed from their first antipsychotic by 6 months. Conclusions: The reality of clinical practice can be much different than rigid protocols or treatment algorithms of pre-marketing studies or clinical trials. In this sample of first episode psychosis patients, although the majority of patients remained on an antipsychotic, changes in medication over the first 2 years were common. Polypharmacy was not a common practice.