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Combining depot antipsychotic with an assertive monitoring programme for treating first-episode schizophrenia in a
Bonginkosi Chiliza1, Akin Ojagbemi2, Oluyomi Esan2
1Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
Aim:
To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of depot antipsychotic (flupenthixol decanoate) combined with an assertive monitoring programme (AMP) in first-episode schizophrenia.
Methods:
This was a prospective, non-comparative, longitudinal study conducted over 12 months assessing patient acceptance, adherence, outcome in domains of psychopathology, functionality and quality of life, and tolerability.
Results:
Of 207 participants, 149 (72%) completed 12 months of treatment. Acceptance of and adherence to depot was good. Treatment response was achieved by 170 (82%) participants and remission by 124 (60%). Thirty-three (19%) responders relapsed and 10 (5%) participants met a priori criteria for treatment resistance. Treatment was generally well tolerated.
Conclusions:
Combination of depot antipsychotic with an AMP may be an effective and safe intervention in early phases of schizophrenia, and may be particularly suitable for resource-constrained settings.
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