Two-Year Rehospitalization Rates of First Episode Schizophrenic Inpatients Discharged on Antipsychotic Medication : A Preliminary Study.
- Author:
Young Sup WOO
1
;
Dong Hyun YOOK
;
Ho Jun SEO
;
Jeong Ho CHAE
;
Tae Youn JUN
;
Won Myong BAHK
Author Information
1. Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. wmbahk@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Schizophrenia;
Antipsychotics;
Rehospitalization rate
- MeSH:
Antipsychotic Agents;
Follow-Up Studies;
Haloperidol;
Humans;
Inpatients*;
Risk Factors;
Risperidone;
Schizophrenia
- From:Korean Journal of Psychopharmacology
2007;18(2):86-91
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: We compared the rehospitalization rate of first-episode schizophrenic inpatients who were discharged from a university hospital while being treated with risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, or the conventional antipsychotic haloperidol. We also assessed other possible predictors of rehospitalization. METHODS: We monitored the rehospitalization status of all first-episode schizophrenic inpatients who were discharged from a university hospital between 1 January 2001 and 30 June 2003 while they were taking risperidone (n=16), olanzapine (n=26), quetiapine (n=9), or haloperidol (n=10). Rehospitalizations were tracked over a 2-year period using the Kaplan-Meier method. Risk factors associated with rehospitalization were examined using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: The rehospitalization rates estimated using the Kaplan-Meier formula for patients taking haloperidol (60.0%) did not differ significantly from the rates for patients treated with risperidone (37.5%), olanzapine (34.6%), or quetiapine (33.3%) during the 24-month follow-up period. The length of untreated illness before drug treatment predicted rehospitalization. CONCLUSION: The rehospitalization rates of first-episode schizophrenic inpatients taking risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, or haloperidol do not differ. However, the small number of patients who participated in this study made it difficult to establish significance.