What is the evidence for the use of second-generation antipsychotic long-acting injectables as maintenance treatment in bipolar disorder?

Long-acting second-generation injectable antipsychotics for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder: a narrative review

INTRODUCTION

Non-adherence to medication significantly affects bipolar disorder outcomes. Long-Acting Injectable antipsychotics show promise by ensuring adherence and averting relapses.

AREAS COVERED

This narrative review sought to evaluate the efficacy of second-generation injectable antipsychotics in bipolar disorder through searches in Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycInfo for randomized controlled trials and mirror-image studies.Risperidone and aripiprazole Long-Acting Injectables demonstrated effectiveness in preventing mood recurrences compared to placebos in adults with bipolar disorder. They showed superiority in preventing mania/hypomania relapses over placebos but did not appear to significantly outperform active oral controls. Notably, active controls seem to be more effective in preventing depression relapses than Long-Acting Injectables. Mirror-Image studies point toward the reduction of hospitalization rates following LAI initiation.

EXPERT OPINION

The available evidence points thus toward the efficacy of LAIs, especially in managing manic episodes and reducing hospitalizations, The current evidence does not however immediately support prioritizing LAIs over oral medications in bipolar disorder treatment. More high-quality studies, especially comparing LAIs directly with active controls, are crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding of their efficacy. These findings highlight the need for further research to guide clinicians in optimizing treatment strategies for bipolar disorder.

Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) are psychiatric disorders with economic and social effects that cause disability. Treatment non-compliance is one of the major problems faced by clinicians in both schizophrenia and BD. Treatment non-compliance is associated with recurrence and impaired functionality. Treatment compliance increases with long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs) and recurrence times are prolonged, hospitalization rates decrease compared to those who use an equivalent oral form of the same drug. The use of LAIAs in the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia has also been associated with a low mortality rate, decrease in caregiver burden, and increase in patient satisfaction. Studies show that LAIAs are cost-effective compared to their oral forms. Data on the use of LAIAs in first-episode schizophrenia and BD are relatively limited. The results of studies on the use of LAIAs in patients with first-episode schizophrenia indicate that LAIAs have advantageous in preventing relapse and re-hospitalization compared to oral antipsychotics. In BD, with the use of LAIAs, the rate of hospitalization due to mood episodes and the frequency of manic episodes have been decreased. LAIAs have not been found to be as effective in preventing depressive episodes in BD as manic episodes. Although there are many studies supporting the use of LAIAs in maintenance treatment of schizophrenia and BD, more studies are needed on this issue. In this article, studies on the use of LAIAs in schizophrenia, first episode schizophrenia and BD are reviewed and the place of LAIAs in treatment was discussed.

Impact of initiating long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate on relapse and hospitalization in patients with bipolar I disorder: A mirror image retrospective study

Literature assessing the use of long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate in patients with bipolar I disorder is limited. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the effectiveness of long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate treatment on relapse and hospitalization in a real-world setting. Patients with bipolar I disorder aged 18-65 years, who were treated with paliperidone palmitate once-monthly (PP1M) for at least one year, were included. The rate of relapse, hospitalization, and length of hospital stay were collected. Safety outcomes included levels of prolactin, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, and low density lipoprotein. The data of 36 patients who met the study criteria were evaluated. Number and length of hospitalizations, number of manic and mixed episodes significantly decreased after PP1M addition. When we compared the prolactin, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, and low density lipoprotein levels as an indicator of the safety of treatment, there was no statistically significant change in these values before and after PP1M addition. Our findings suggested PP1M may be effective in reducing manic and mixed episodes. Limitations include a mirror image retrospective design and small sample size.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) for maintenance treatment of bipolar and schizoaffective disorders: A systematic review

Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics (LAIs) are used to overcome non-compliance in psychoses, mainly schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We aimed to summarize available evidence of studies comparing the efficacy of LAIs to placebo or oral medications for Bipolar Disorder (BD) and/or Schizoaffective Disorder (SAD). We searched six databases from inception to 28-March-2018, using the strategy: long-acting antipsychotics AND (bipolar disorder OR schizoaffective disorder OR mania OR manic OR bipolar depression). We included peer-reviewed double-blind comparisons of LAIs for any clinical outcome occurrence in BD, or open mirror studies with same prospective as retrospective assessment periods. We excluded studies reporting on mixed schizophrenia/SAD populations without reporting results separately. The pooled records amounted to 642. After duplicate removal and inclusion/exclusion criteria application, we included 15 studies, 6 double-blind and 9 open, 13 assessing BD and 2 SAD. Depot neuroleptics prevented manic, but not depressive recurrences and may worsen depressive symptoms. Risperidone long-acting injectable was found to be effective in protecting from any mood/manic symptom compared to placebo, but not from depressive recurrences. Add-on or monotherapy paliperidone palmitate in SAD patients protected from psychotic, depressive, and manic symptoms. In patients with BD-I with a manic episode at study enrolment, aripiprazole monohydrate significantly delayed time to recurrence of manic episodes without inducing depressive episodes. LAIs are effective and well-tolerated maintenance treatments for BD and SAD. They showed better efficacy in preventing mania than depression. LAIs may be first-line for BD-I and SAD patients with a manic predominant polarity and with non-adherence problems.

Risperidone adjunctive therapy duration in the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder: A post hoc analysis

BACKGROUND

Risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic medication, is recommended as a first line treatment for acute mania in patients with bipolar disorder I (BD I). It is unknown if continuing treatment with risperidone adjunct to lithium or valproate after remission of the manic episode offers additional benefit in prevention of mood episode relapse.

METHODS

A post-hoc subgroup analysis was conducted using data from a 52-week, double-blind, placebo controlled trial involving 93 patients treated with oral risperidone adjunct to mood stabilizer, randomized to arms discontinuing risperidone at entry ("0-week arm"), 24 weeks after entry ("24-week arm") or continuing risperidone ("52-week arm"). Time to any episode, manic episode, and depressive episode was compared between arms using Cox regression models.

RESULTS

Time to any mood episode was longer in the 24-week arm versus the 0-week arm (HR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.31-1.05, P = 0.07) and shorter in the 52-week arm versus 24-week arm (HR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.00-3.41, P = 0.05), though these results were not significant. Time to relapse into manic episode was significantly longer in the 24-week arm versus 0-week arm (HR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.65, P = 0.01). No other significant differences were observed between arms.

LIMITATIONS

The sample size was modest, as the original dataset was powered to study optimal duration for two atypical antipsychotics.

CONCLUSIONS

Adjunctive risperidone treatment was observed to reduce the risk of manic episodes during the first 24 weeks, but not after 24 weeks. Treatment did not appear to reduce the risk of depressive episodes.

Mapping of modifiable barriers and facilitators of medication adherence in bipolar disorder to the Theoretical Domains Framework: a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION

People with bipolar disorder require long-term treatment but it is estimated that 40% of these people do not adhere to prescribed medication regimens. Non-adherence increases the risk of relapse, hospitalisation and suicide. Some evidence syntheses report barriers to mental health treatment adherence but rarely delineate between modifiable and non-modifiable barriers. They also fail to distinguish between the patients' perspective and that of other stakeholders such as clinicians despite of their different understanding and priorities about adherence. Facilitators of adherence, which are also important for informing adherence intervention design, are also lacking from syntheses and few syntheses focus on medications for bipolar disorder.This systematic review aims to identify modifiable barriers and facilitators (determinants) of medication adherence in bipolar disorder. We also plan to report determinants of medication adherence from perspectives of patients, carers, healthcare professionals and other third parties. A unique feature of this systematic review in the context of mental health is the use of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to organise the literature identified determinants of medication adherence.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The protocol adheres to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols and ENhancing Transparency in REporting the synthesis of Qualitative research (ENTREQ) guidelines. This review will include both qualitative and quantitative primary studies exploring determinants of medication adherence in bipolar disorder. We will search the following databases using a preplanned strategy: CINAHL, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), Embase, LiLACS, Medline, PsychINFO, PubMed without date restrictions. We will report the quality of included studies. We will use framework synthesis using the TDF as an a priori 'framework'. We will map the literature identified modifiable determinants to the domains of TDF.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42018096306.

Second-generation antipsychotic long-acting injections in bipolar disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Non-adherence is a significant problem in bipolar disorder. Second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) long-acting injections (LAIs) may improve adherence in bipolar disorder and may prevent relapses. However, the evidence is limited and conflicting.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of SGA LAIs in bipolar disorder.

METHOD

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (≥6 months duration) investigating safety and efficacy of SGA LAIs for bipolar disorder. We searched Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycINFO, LiLACS, www.clinicaltrials.gov up to October 2016. We also contacted the manufacturers of SGA LAIs. Primary efficacy and safety outcomes were relapse rate and all-cause discontinuation respectively.

RESULTS

Total of seven RCTs (n = 1192) were included. SGA LAIs show superiority over placebo for study-defined relapse rate (RR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.49-0.68, P < 0.00001) and all-cause discontinuation (RR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.64-0.82, P < 0.00001). However, no significant difference was found between SGA LAIs and oral active control for relapse rate (RR = 0.92, P = 0.79) and all-cause discontinuation (RR = 1.2, P = 0.31). In terms of secondary outcomes, SGA LAIs performed better than placebo in relapse to mania/hypomania, young mania rating scales (YMRS), clinical global impression-severity (CGI-S), montgomery-asberg depression rating scale (MADRS). There was no significant difference between SGA LAIs and oral active control regarding relapse to mania/hypomania, YMRS, CGI-S, extra-pyramidal side effects (EPSEs), weight gain. However, the active control performed better than SGA LAIs in relapse to depression, MADRS, and prolactin-related AEs.

CONCLUSIONS

Current evidence is very limited to support the use of SGA LAIs (compared to oral medication) in bipolar disorder. Further high-quality studies, particularly comparing SGA LAIs with active control, are warranted.

Cost–effectiveness of long-acting injectable aripiprazole once-monthly 400 mg in bipolar I disorder in the USA

Aim: To evaluate the cost–effectiveness of aripiprazole once-monthly 400/300 mg (AOM 400) in maintenance monotherapy treatment of bipolar I disorder (BP-I). Methods: A de novo lifetime Markov model was developed for BP-I using available data for AOM 400 and relevant comparators. Base-case analysis considered costs and outcomes from the US payer perspective. Results: The cost per quality-adjusted life year gained with AOM 400 versus comparators ranged from US$2007 versus oral asenapine to dominance (i.e., lower cost with quality-adjusted life gain) versus long-acting injectable risperidone, paliperidone palmitate, oral cariprazine and best supportive care. Patients treated with AOM 400 were estimated to have fewer mood episodes and hospitalizations per patient (5.37) than comparators (6.33, asenapine or cariprazine; 6.54, risperidone long-acting injectable; 7.64, paliperidone palmitate; and 8.93, best supportive care). Sensitivity analyses showed results were robust to parameter uncertainty. Conclusion: AOM 400 may be considered cost effective in the maintenance monotherapy treatment of BP-I in adults.

Budget impact analysis of long-acting injectable aripiprazole once-monthly 400 mg in bipolar I disorder in the USA

AIM

To estimate the budget impact (BI) of introducing aripiprazole once-monthly 400 mg/300 mg (AOM 400) in the maintenance monotherapy treatment of bipolar I disorder versus long-acting injectables, oral antipsychotics and best supportive care.

METHODS

A BI model was developed from a US-payer perspective using treatment-related, hospitalization and adverse event management cost estimates for a hypothetical 1,000,000-member health plan over a 5-year period.

RESULTS

Market share of AOM 400 was predicted to increase from 0.6% in Year 1 (current scenario) to 1.3% in Year 5 (predicted scenario), with predicted increases for paliperidone palmitate, asenapine and cariprazine. Treatment-related costs explained the BI increase, while adverse event and hospitalization costs were reduced. The per member per month incremental cost ranged from US$0.06 to US$0.26 in Years 1-5. The largest increases were predicted for paliperidone palmitate.

CONCLUSION

As market shares of atypical antipsychotics are predicted to increase, payers may wish to re-evaluate their use.

Bipolar patients treated with long-acting injectable risperidone in Taiwan: A 1-year mirror-image study using a national claims database

OBJECTIVE

Bipolar disorder (BD) is burdensome for patients and healthcare systems. This study evaluated changes in concomitant medication patterns, healthcare utilization, and costs after the initiation of risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) treatment among BD patients.

METHOD

287 BD patients receiving regular RLAI treatment for 1 year were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research database during 2007-2012. The bootstrapping procedure was performed to create 1000 samples to generate normally distributed data. The paired t-tests with a correction for multiple comparisons using Bonferroni correction were used to compare the proportion of patients of concomitant psychiatric medication and resource use and costs between pre- and post-RLAI periods. Rapid and non-rapid cycling stratification was performed based on the number of change-in-mood episodes within 1 year prior to the index date.

RESULTS

The mean annual dose of RLAI was 638.41mg, which was equal to an average dose of 24.6mg every 2 weeks. The prevalence of concomitant use of conventional antipsychotics, atypical antipsychotics, lithium, and antidepressants decreased from the pre-RLAI period to the post-RLAI period by 23.75%, 31.91%, 1.29%, and 7.08%, respectively. RLAI use decreased emergency room (ER) visits, hospital admissions, length of hospital stay, and non-medication costs (all P<0.0001). The cost savings with RLAI were attributed to lower hospitalization costs in spite of higher medication costs. Moreover, rapid cycling patients (n=36) demonstrated greater reduction in ER and inpatient services with RLAI than non-rapid cycling patients (n=251).

LIMITATIONS

Of the patients who initiated RLAI, 15% of them who had regular treatment were included. Furthermore, data on measures of symptom severity, side effects, and hyperprolactinemia were not available.

CONCLUSION

BD patients had lower inpatient and ER utilization, and non-medication costs after using RLAI. In addition, RLAI use decreased the number of change-in-mood episodes in rapid cycling patients; which provides additional insights into the treatment of rapid cycling BD patients.

Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics for Prevention of Relapse in Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND

This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials aimed to examine the advantages of long-acting injectable antipsychotics over placebo or oral medications regarding efficacy and safety for patients with bipolar disorder.

METHODS

Two categorical meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials were performed to compare study-defined relapse rate (primary), discontinuation rates, and individual adverse events: (1) risperidone-long-acting injectable vs placebo, and (2) long-acting injectable antipsychotics vs oral medications.

RESULTS

We identified 7 randomized controlled trials (n=1016; long-acting injectable antipsychotics [flupenthixol (1 randomized controlled trial) and risperidone (6 randomized controlled trials)=449]; oral medications [mood stabilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotic, or any combination of these agents=283]; and placebo=284). Risperidone-long-acting injectable antipsychotic was superior to placebo for study-defined relapse rate (risk ratio=0.63, P<.0001), relapse of manic symptoms (risk ratio=0.42, P<.00001), and all-cause discontinuation (risk ratio=0.75, P=.007). Risperidone-long-acting injectable was associated with higher incidence of prolactin-related adverse events (risk ratio=4.82, P=.001) and weight gain (risk ratio=3.80, P<.0001) than placebo. The pooled long-acting injectable antipsychotics did not outperform oral medications regarding primary outcome but with significant heterogeneity (I2=74%). Sensitivity analysis, including only studies with rapid cycling or high frequency of relapse patients, revealed that long-acting injectable antipsychotics were superior compared to oral medications (I2=0%, RR=0.58, P=.0004). However, the comparators in this sensitivity analysis did not include second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy. In sensitivity analysis, including only studies with second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy as the comparator, long-acting injectable antipsychotics did not outperform second-generation antipsychotic monotherapy. Risperidone-long-acting injectable was also associated with higher incidence of prolactin-related adverse events than oral medications (RR=2.66, P=.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics appear beneficial for relapse prevention in patients with rapid cycling. Furthermore, randomized controlled trials comparing long-acting injectable antipsychotics and oral second-generation antipsychotic using larger samples of rapid cycling patients are warranted.

Efficacy and safety of second-generation antipsychotic long-acting injections (SGA LAIs) in maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Bipolar disorder requires long-term treatment but non-adherence is a common problem. Antipsychotic long-acting injections (LAIs) have been suggested to improve adherence but none are licensed in the UK for bipolar. However, the use of second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) LAIs in bipolar is not uncommon albeit there is a lack of systematic review in this area. This study aims to systematically review safety and efficacy of SGA LAIs in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The protocol is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and will include only randomised controlled trials comparing SGA LAIs in bipolar. PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), PsychINFO, LiLACS, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov will be searched, with no language restriction, from 2000 to January 2016 as first SGA LAIs came to the market after 2000. Manufacturers of SGA LAIs will also be contacted. Primary efficacy outcome is relapse rate or delayed time to relapse or reduction in hospitalisation and primary safety outcomes are drop-out rates, all-cause discontinuation and discontinuation due to adverse events. Qualitative reporting of evidence will be based on 21 items listed on standards for reporting qualitative research (SRQR) focusing on study quality (assessed using the Jadad score, allocation concealment and data analysis), risk of bias and effect size. Publication bias will be assessed using funnel plots. If sufficient data are available meta-analysis will be performed with primary effect size as relative risk presented with 95% CI. Sensitivity analysis, conditional on number of studies and sample size, will be carried out on manic versus depressive symptoms and monotherapy versus adjunctive therapy.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, conference presentation and the press.

STUDY REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42015023948.

[French Society for Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology task force. Formal consensus for the treatment of bipolar disorder: an update (2014)]

As part of a process to improve the quality of care, the French Society for Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology developed in 2010 formal consensus guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder. The evolution of therapeutic options available in France for the treatment of bipolar disorder has justified the update of this guideline. The purpose of this work was to provide an updated and ergonomic document to promote its use by clinicians. This update focuses on two of the six thematic previously published (acute treatment and long-term treatment). Aspects of the treatment of bipolar patients sparking debate and questions of clinicians (use of antidepressant, place of the bitherapy, interest of long-acting antipsychotics…) were also covered. Finally, we proposed graded recommendations taking into account specifically the risk-benefit balance of each molecule.

Guidelines for the use and management of long-acting injectable antipsychotics in serious mental illness

BACKGROUND

Long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations are not widely used in routine practice even though they offer advantages in terms of relapse prevention. As part of a process to improve the quality of care, the French Association for Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology (AFPBN) elaborated guidelines for the use and management of antipsychotic depots in clinical practice.

METHODS

Based on a literature review, a written survey was prepared that asked about 539 options in 32 specific clinical situations concerning 3 fields: target-population, prescription and use, and specific populations. We contacted 53 national experts, 42 of whom (79%) completed the survey. The options were scored using a 9-point scale derived from the Rand Corporation and the University of California in the USA. According to the answers, a categorical rank (first-line/preferred choice, second-line/alternate choice, third-line/usually inappropriate) was assigned to each option. The first-line option was defined as a strategy rated as 7-9 (extremely appropriate) by at least 50% of the experts. The following results summarize the key recommendations from the guidelines after data analysis and interpretation of the results of the survey by the scientific committee.

RESULTS

LAI antipsychotics are indicated in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder and bipolar disorder. LAI second-generation antipsychotics are recommended as maintenance treatment after the first episode of schizophrenia. LAI first-generation antipsychotics are not recommended in the early course of schizophrenia and are not usually appropriate in bipolar disorder. LAI antipsychotics have long been viewed as a treatment that should only be used for a small subgroup of patients with non-compliance, frequent relapses or who pose a risk to others. The panel considers that LAI antipsychotics should be considered and systematically proposed to any patients for whom maintenance antipsychotic treatment is indicated. Recommendations for medication management when switching oral antipsychotics to LAI antipsychotics are proposed. Recommendations are also given for the use of LAI in specific populations.

CONCLUSION

In an evidence-based clinical approach, psychiatrists, through shared decision-making, should be systematically offering to most patients that require long-term antipsychotic treatment an LAI antipsychotic as a first-line treatment.