Factors related to the continuation of aripiprazole once-monthly treatment at 1 year

Clinical outcomes with paliperidone palmitate 3-monthly injection as monotherapy: observational 3-year follow-up of patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Paliperidone palmitate 3-monthly (PP3M) has been tested in 1-year controlled studies. The aim of this study was to examine the relapse outcomes with PP3M monotherapy at 3 years in patients with schizophrenia.

METHODS

This was an observational, non-interventional study of patients started on PP3M according to their clinical need. All patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia (ICD-10 F20) and were between 18 and 65 years of age. The study took place in a mental health facility in South East London, UK.

RESULTS

Among the 166 patients who started PP3M, 97 (58%) met inclusion criteria and were observed for 36 months. In total, five patients (5%) experienced a relapse (defined as step-up in clinical care) while on PP3M. There were no relapses between months 18 and 36. Of the original 97 patients, 56 (58%) remained on PP3M monotherapy at 3 years, and 71 (73%) remained on either PP3M or paliperidone palmitate one-monthly. Reasons for discontinuation of PP3M included patient refusal (n = 11, 33% of discontinuations) and adverse effects in (n = 8, 24%).

CONCLUSION

PP3M is a highly effective monotherapy treatment for reducing relapse in people with schizophrenia.

Predictors of persistence in patients with schizophrenia treated with aripiprazole once-monthly long-acting injection in the Spanish clinical practice: a retrospective, observational study

Background

Poor adherence to antipsychotic drugs is a major problem in schizophrenia management and one of the most important risk factors for relapse and hospitalization. To date, there is little evidence on persistence predictors with long-acting injectable antipsychotics, especially with aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM). This study (NCT03130478) aimed to describe the impact of demographic and clinical characteristics on persistence with AOM treatment in real-world setting.

Methods

This was an observational, retrospective, non-interventional study that included adult patients with schizophrenia who were initiated on AOM during a schizophrenia-related hospitalization. Data were retrospectively collected from patients’ medical records. The primary variable was persistence with AOM, measured as the number of days from AOM initiation up to all-cause AOM discontinuation during the first six months after treatment index.

Results

140 patients were enrolled and 91 fulfilled the selection criteria. Six months after AOM initiation, 65 (71.4%) patients were still receiving AOM treatment, whereas 26 (28.6%) were not. The mean (standard deviation) time to AOM treatment discontinuation in the first six months was 138.1 (6.8) days, with most of the patients discontinuing at the first 28 days. The risk of AOM discontinuation in the first six months increases 1.05-fold annually since schizophrenia diagnosis (p=0.003); moreover, this risk increases 2.86-fold in patients with concomitant schizophrenia medication at AOM initiation compared to patients without concomitant schizophrenia treatments (p=0.02).

Conclusions

Main factors predicting persistence with AOM treatment at six months in clinical practice are fewer years since schizophrenia diagnosis and not receiving concomitant schizophrenia treatments at AOM initiation.