Abstract
The treatment of 57 patients with chronic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder managed at the Outpatient Neuropsychiatry Clinic of Kansai Medical University Takii Hospital was switched to risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) in order to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, changes in prescription trends, and treatment continuation rate during a 6-month study period. The continuation rate of RLAI treatment was 71.8%. A significant reduction was noted in the total brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) score (p=0.002), but not in the total drug-induced extrapyramidal symptoms scale (DIEPSS) score. Analysis of changes in the doses of drugs used concomitantly with RLAI, such as antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and antiparkinsonian drugs, showed that there was no significant reduction in the doses of these drugs as compared to the doses before the start of RLAI treatment. The improvement in the continuation rate of RLAI treatment and BPRS score seems to be closely associated with a well-designed treatment approach, improvement in adherence and characteristics of RLAI as a drug. Thus, our findings indicate that RLAI may be one of the useful treatment options to ensure continued treatment of outpatients at the psychiatry department of general hospitals.
