This study examined the use of low doses of antipsychotic medications (300 mg/day CPZeq or less) in older Asian patients with schizophrenia and its demographic and clinical correlates.
This study examined the prescribing patterns of several first- (FGAs) and second-generation antipsychotic (SGAs) medications administered to older Asian patients with schizophrenia during the period between 2001 and 2009.
This study surveyed the prescribing patterns of antipsychotic medications in Asian older schizophrenia patients with extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) during the period between 2001 and 2009.
Recent studies indicate relatively high international rates of adjunctive psychotropic medication, including mood stabilizers, for patients with schizophrenia. Since such treatments are little studied in Asia, we examined the frequency of mood-stabilizer use and its clinical correlates among hospitalized Asian patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2001-2008. We evaluated usage rates of mood stabilizers with antipsychotic drugs, and associated factors, for in-patients diagnosed with DSM-IV schizophrenia in 2001, 2004 and 2008 in nine Asian regions: China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore. Overall, mood stabilizers were given to 20.4% (n=1377/6761) of hospitalized schizophrenia patients, with increased usage over time. Mood-stabilizer use was significantly and independently associated in multivariate logistic modeling with: aggressive behaviour, disorganized speech, year sampled (2008 vs. earlier), multiple hospitalizations, less negative symptoms, younger age, with regional variation (Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore>Taiwan or China). Co-prescription of adjunctive mood stabilizers with antipsychotics for hospitalized Asian schizophrenia patients increased over the past decade, and was associated with specific clinical characteristics. This practice parallels findings in other countries and illustrates ongoing tension between evidence-based practice vs. individualized, empirical treatment of psychotic disorders.
Little is known about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) use in Asian inpatients with schizophrenia. This study examined trends of ECT use for schizophrenia patients in Asia between 2001 and 2009 and its independent demographic and clinical correlates.