Patient subjective experience of treatment with long-acting injectable antipsychotics: a systematic review of qualitative studies

A realist review of medication optimisation of community dwelling service users with serious mental illness

BACKGROUND

Severe mental illness (SMI) incorporates schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, non-organic psychosis, personality disorder or any other severe and enduring mental health illness. Medication, particularly antipsychotics and mood stabilisers are the main treatment options. Medication optimisation is a hallmark of medication safety, characterised by the use of collaborative, person-centred approaches. There is very little published research describing medication optimisation with people living with SMI.

OBJECTIVE

Published literature and two stakeholder groups were employed to answer: What works for whom and in what circumstances to optimise medication use with people living with SMI in the community?

METHODS

A five-stage realist review was co-conducted with a lived experience group of individuals living with SMI and a practitioner group caring for individuals with SMI. An initial programme theory was developed. A formal literature search was conducted across eight bibliographic databases, and literature were screened for relevance to programme theory refinement. In total 60 papers contributed to the review. 42 papers were from the original database search with 18 papers identified from additional database searches and citation searches conducted based on stakeholder recommendations.

RESULTS

Our programme theory represents a continuum from a service user's initial diagnosis of SMI to therapeutic alliance development with practitioners, followed by mutual exchange of information, shared decision-making and medication optimisation. Accompanying the programme theory are 11 context-mechanism-outcome configurations that propose evidence-informed contextual factors and mechanisms that either facilitate or impede medication optimisation. Two mid-range theories highlighted in this review are supported decision-making and trust formation.

CONCLUSIONS

Supported decision-making and trust are foundational to overcoming stigma and establishing 'safety' and comfort between service users and practitioners. Avenues for future research include the influence of stigma and equity across cultural and ethnic groups with individuals with SMI; and use of trained supports, such as peer support workers.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021280980.

Results from PSIPROSPER: A multicenter retrospective study to analyze the impact of treatment with paliperidone palmitate 1-month on clinical outcomes and hospital resource utilization in adult patients with schizophrenia in Portugal

BACKGROUND

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder with a significant impact worldwide. The early onset and its relapsing nature pose a significant challenge to patients and caregivers. The PSIPROSPER study aimed to characterize the real-world context of schizophrenia treatment in Portugal and to measure the impact of including paliperidone palmitate 1-month formulation (PP1M) in the clinical outcomes (relapses and hospitalizations) and healthcare resource utilization, in a context in which payment scheme in Portugal allows for patients to receive free antipsychotics if prescribed at public hospitals.

METHODS

This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study. Male and female adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who initiated treatment with PP1M after a minimum of 12 months on an Oral Antipsychotic (OAP), and with complete medical charts, were consecutively included. A mirror-image design over 24 months allowed the comparison of outcomes before and after the PP1M introduction.

RESULTS

Out of the 51 patients included, 80.4% were male, with a mean age of 34 (±9.8) years. Around 92% of patients were being treated with PP1M at inclusion. Lack of adherence to previous OAP was the main driver for PP1M initiation. Only 9.8% of patients were hospitalized during the PP1M period vs. 64.7% during the OAP period (p < 0.0001). The mean number of hospitalizations (0.1) was significantly lower during the PP1M period (p < 0.0001). Type of treatment was the only variable found to be significant in predicting a lower hospitalization rate and a lower risk of hospitalization. Relapses were significantly lower (p < 0.0001) in PP1M (21.6%) vs. OAP (83.7%). Similarly, the mean change in the number of relapses (p < 0.0001) showed significantly better outcomes in PP1M.

CONCLUSION

This study supports PP1M as part of schizophrenia treatment in Portugal. Given the lower number of relapses and hospitalizations observed in schizophrenia patients treated with PP1M when compared to OAP-treated patients, this real-world study seems to provide further evidence to support the use of PP1M to treat this condition, in line with previous research. In the context of scarce public resources, these benefits should be carefully considered by healthcare decision-makers to ensure optimal value-based treatment strategies.