Clinical outcomes of long-acting risperidone in recent versus long-term diagnosed Belgian schizophrenic patients: Results from electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry (e-STAR) and Trial for the Initiation and Maintenance Of REmission in Schizophrenia with risperidone (TIMORES)

Aim: Potential differences in psychiatric clinical outcomes and hospitalization rates before and after the initiation of long-acting risperidone among recently and long-term diagnosed schizophrenia patients were studied. Methods: Data from two observational studies (Trial for the Initiation and Maintenance Of REmission in Schizophrenia with risperidone (TIMORES) and electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry (e-STAR)) were categorized by the recency of their diagnose and compared in several post hoc analyses. Clinical Global Impression of illness Severity (CGI-S) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores, as well as symptoms of clinical deterioration (including hospitalization data) at baseline, 12-month (for TIMORES and e-STAR) and 24-month (for e-STAR) follow-up were analysed. Other outcome measures included discontinuation rate, employment status and remission attainment. Results: Statistically significantly differences between recent and long-term diagnosed schizophrenic patients at 12- and 24-month follow-up were found for CGI-S (between P<0.01 and P≤0.001) and GAF (P<0.05) scores. Other differences between both schizophrenic patient groups were found for measures of clinical deterioration, employment status and full symptomatic remission rates at 1 year. Although no consistent difference was found between recent and long-term patient groups for hospitalization parameters, the difference in length of full hospitalization days was statistically significantly different (P<0.01) between e-STAR 'Early' and 'Late' patient groups at both 12- and 24-month endpoints: the mean change from baseline was significantly greater for e-STAR 'Early' at 12 months, but greater for e-STAR 'Late' at 24 months. Conclusions: The findings of the post hoc analyses support the significance of pharmacological interventions, such as long-acting risperidone, in addressing discontinuity issues, especially in recently diagnosed patients. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd