Utilization of depot neuroleptic medication in psychiatric inpatients

This report describes the extent and pattern of use of depot neuroleptics within the 21 adult civil psychiatric hospitals operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). All inpatients receiving depot or oral neuroleptics in calendar year 1994 were identified. In addition to descriptive data on admission and drug orders, a logistic regression was fit using gender, age, race, and facility for the probability of receiving depot. Depot utilization ranged from 12 percent to 39 percent of all patients receiving neuroleptics (N = 18,543). Differences among facilities were statistically significant (p < .05). Gender was not found to be a statistically significant factor, but blacks and Hispanic/others were found to be more likely than whites to receive depot (p < .05), and those 65 years or older were found to be less likely to receive depot (p < .05). For patients admitted in 1994, depot neuroleptics were typically started within a month or two of admission and continued for 2 to 3 months, with 86 percent of these patients discharged by December 31, 1995. Except for milligram dose and frequency of injection, haloperidol decanoate and fluphenazine decanoate did not differ in terms of extent and pattern of use.