How effective are antipsychotic treatments in the community?
The effectiveness of first and second generation antipsychotics in treating schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders varies greatly in a real world setting. Tiihonen and colleagues (p 224) followed 2230 consecutive adults who were hospitalised for the first time because of schizophrenia for an average of 3.6 years. Patients treated with perphenazine depot, clozapine, or olanzapine had a lower risk of rehospitalisation or all cause discontinuation of their initial treatment than those treated with haloperidol. Excess mortality was seen in patients not using antipsychotic drugs.
