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Which neuroleptic would psychiatrists take for themselves or their relatives?
1Centre of Psychiatry Weissenau, Department of Psychiatry I, University of Ulm, Weingartshofer Street, Ravensburg-Weissenau 88214, Germany. tilman.steinert@zfp-weissenau.de
Objective:
Psychiatrists should be asked which neuroleptic they would prefer for themselves and their relatives in the case of first manifestation of schizophrenia.
Method:
Questionnaires were answered by 66 psychiatrists from 13 different sites in Baden-Wuerttemberg (South West Germany). Only those were included who had treated more than 50 patients with schizophrenia within the last 5 years (n = 54).
Results:
The psychiatrists were experienced with conventional and most of the atypical agents. Fifty-one point nine percent would take olanzapine as first line treatment, 20.4% risperidone, 13.0% quetiapine, 9.3% amisulpride, 3.7% haloperidol and 1.9% perazine. In four cases, different substances were preferred for oneself and relatives.
Conclusion:
Most psychiatrists would not take conventional neuroleptics, though 70% of prescriptions for schizophrenic patients have been conventional neuroleptics in Germany in 2000. The preferences among atypicals correspond well with the current prescription practice in Germany.