Maintenance Therapy of Psychosis Spectrum Disorders in a Real-World Setting: Antipsychotics Prescription Patterns and Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use

• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.796719
• Publication Date: 2022-04-07T06:09:57Z
• Authors: Nadja P. Maric; Sanja Andric Petr...; Manuela Russo; Stefan Jerotic; Ivan Ristic; Bojana Savić; Tamara Pemovska; Milos Milutinovic; Emina Ribic; Silvana Markovska...; Alma Dzubur Kulen...; Nikolina Jovanovic
• Keywords: Lorazepam

Maintenance therapy of patients with primary psychosis spectrum disorders (PSD) in the Western Balkans has received limited interest so far. The present study aimed to investigate long-term prescription patterns among outpatients PSD.Information about antipsychotics (AP), benzodiazepines (BZD) and other psychotropic medication over a 6-month period was collected from (n = 134; ICD-10 diagnosis F20-29) recruited by larger multi-site study, find mean daily number drugs, AP (including dose, route administration, monotherapy vs. polypharmacy) BZD utilization (long-term add-on therapy). Additionally, sex-differences variables were explored.Clinically stable (age 41.7 ± 11.0; male 62.7%; duration untreated illness 12.7 8.7 years; lifetime hospitalizations 2.6 0.7) prescribed 2.8 1.1 medications daily. dose 14.2 7.8 mg olanzapine equivalents. Long-acting injectable 25.2% patients. Long-term found 52.7% most them second generation (65.2%). polypharmacy (42.7%) more common males (p 0.015). frequent co-prescription first plus clozapine. highest rate for (in 42.7% cases, average 6-months 2.7 lorazepam equivalents) anticholinergics (33.6%).Existing appropriately designed interventions aiming safely switch inappropriate therapeutic regimens, i.e. very high prevalence non-rational co-prescription, should be implemented region Balkans.