Mental Health Research Institute and Monash University of Victoria, Australia
Optimized use of Atypical Antipsychotics Associated With Equal Efficacy and Brief Hospital Stays in Patients With Acute Psychosis
Victoria, Australia (ots/PRNewswire)
A new study published by physicians from the Mental Health Research Institute and Monash University of Victoria, Australia, showed that all atypical antipsychotics studied were equally efficacious when used at optimal doses as primary medication for inpatients with acute psychosis.(1) They were associated with remarkably brief hospital stays. This hospital-based study adds to the clinical evidence regarding patient response patterns to the best treatment approaches of acute psychosis in real-life clinical practice.
The study published in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice also found that patients treated with the atypical antipsychotics quetiapine, risperidone or olanzapine as primary treatment, in addition to adjunctive medications, showed a similar time to efficacy (mean time to efficacy was 11.2, 10.2 and 11.2 days, respectively).(1) The mean doses of atypical antipsychotics used were 567 mg quetiapine, 4.1 mg risperidone or 22.5 mg olanzapine.
Overall, hospital stays for these patients were remarkably brief despite their initial severe psychopathological disturbances. Patients treated with quetiapine, risperidone and olanzapine were discharged from hospital in just over two weeks (means of 17.0, 16.7 and 15.8 days, respectively). All medication schedules were associated with good tolerability and no serious side effects were seen. Patients receiving quetiapine required significantly less benzodiazepines as co-medication compared to patients receiving risperidone or olanzapine.
Lead investigator Professor Nicholas Keks, Mental Health Hospital Research Institute of Victoria, Australia, commented: "Acute psychosis is a severe mental condition that greatly disturbs the life of affected individuals and their families. The most important aim of therapy is to alleviate symptoms rapidly and, using medication optimally, to facilitate return to community care. The atypical antipsychotics studied clearly help to achieve a return to normal life for these patients."
This study also examined a more rapid titration schedule of the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine (n = 32) than the current approved prescribing information. Most patients responded well to the accelerated titration, which started at 150-400 mg of quetiapine on day one and increased to higher doses in the course of treatment.
Prof Keks added: "Clinical guidelines are very important. However, it is even more important to fine-tune the therapy approach to the individual to achieve the optimal treatment outcome, especially in acute psychosis. Some patients seem to respond well to higher doses of atypicals or faster titration of quetiapine although larger studies are necessary to support our findings."
Acute mental illness causes a significant strain on the healthcare and societal resources. Acute psychosis can appear suddenly in untreated individuals with schizophrenia, or schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, but also people suffering from bipolar disorder or major depression. It is estimated that approximately one percent of the population are affected by schizophrenia,(2) four percent by schizophrenia-spectrum disorders,(3) three to four percent by bipolar disorder(4) and six percent by major depression(5).
The retrospective, naturalistic study conducted by Professor Nicholas Keks and colleagues over a period of 12 months at Box Hill Hospital acute psychiatric care unit during 2001 included 137 inpatients who were prescribed atypical antipsychotics as first-line treatment for their acute psychosis. In total, 37 patients received quetiapine, 38 risperidone and 56 olanzapine in addition to other medications. Treatment protocols were developed from published guidelines.
The study was funded by the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria.
References:
1) Keks N, Tonso M, Tabone K, et al. Clinical experience with atypical antipsychotics in an acute inpatient unit: focus on quetiapine. Int J Psychiatry Clin Practice 2006;10(2):138-41.
2) Suppina AL, Patten SB. Self-reported diagnoses of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders may be valuable for monitoring and surveillance. Can J Psychiatry 2006;51(4):256-9.
3) Mattia JI, Zimmerman M. Epidemiology. In Livesley WJ, ed. The handbook of personality disorders. New York, NY: The Guilford Press, 2001;107-23.
4) Hirschfeld RMA, Calabrese JR, Weissman MM, et al. Screening for bipolar disorder in the community. J Clin Psychiatry 2003;64:53-9.
5) Wittchen ES, Jacobi F. Size and burden of mental disorders in Europe - a critical review and appraisal of 27 studies. Eur Neuropsychopharmacology 2005;15:357-76.
Contact:
For further information, please contact Professor Nicholas Keks on
+61-418-559-341, or Mr Ross Johnson in the Media Communications
Office on +61-393-881-633