[Pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia]

Decades of practice in psychiatriy and hundreds of clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of antipsychotics on symptoms of schizophrenia. Recently, the knowledge acquired from non-interventional studies have supplemented the information needed in daily practice by raising the issue of efficiency by incorporating not only the effectiveness and safety of treatment but also its acceptability by the patient. Adherence to antipsychotic treatment has become the key issue of the prognosis. The pharmacological management of patients with an acute episode of schizophrenia requires rapid therapeutic decisions to treat a patient who is likely to be sometimes unhelpful and agitated. The choice of treatment will have a significant impact on the prevention of psychotic relapses, on the overall prognosis and on the quality of life of the patient. In many countries of the recommendations and treatment algorithms for the management of acute psychosis were distributed, considering factors specific to the patient and his environment, his mental characteristics and local care setting.