Effects of antipsychotic polypharmacy on side-effects and concurrent use of medications in schizophrenic outpatients.
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
; 66(5): 405-10, 2012 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22834658
AIMS: Medical therapy is the cornerstone of schizophrenia, but >50% of patients do not adhere to medication regimens. In previous reports, the reasons for non-adherence were assessed only by medical staff. We think that patients have specific reasons for non-adherence. We researched whether there was an association between patients' subjective opinions and the number of antipsychotics used. METHODS: A self-rating questionnaire survey was conducted on 252 outpatients with schizophrenia at five psychiatric hospitals in Japan. Based on patients' subjective opinions, we retrospectively analyzed the patients' medications: the number of antipsychotics, concurrently used agents, and dosages of antipsychotics. RESULTS: There was no significant difference regarding attitudes toward medication between monotherapy and polypharmacy. The most common reason for not taking medications was 'I sometimes forget' followed by 'side-effects'. Of the latter, weight gain was the most common, and dry mouth (P < 0.05) and sexual dysfunction (P < 0.01) were significantly higher in polypharmacy. The dosages of antipsychotics (P < 0.01), concurrent use of anti-Parkinsonian agents (P < 0.01), and the number of side-effects (P < 0.01) were also higher in polypharmacy. CONCLUSIONS: Patients had good attitudes toward medication but a higher prevalence of side-effects was seen in polypharmacy of antipsychotics. Hence, monotherapy may be a more appropriate prescription with respect to side-effects. By using monotherapy, patients may reduce feelings of discomfort due to side-effects.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Esquizofrenia
/
Antipsicóticos
/
Polifarmacia
/
Cumplimiento de la Medicación
Tipo de estudio:
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
Asunto de la revista:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSIQUIATRIA
Año:
2012
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Japón
Pais de publicación:
Australia