Original scientific paper

Two-year Rehospitalization Rates of Patients with Newly Diagnosed or Chronic Schizophrenia on Atypical or Typical Antipsychotic Drugs: Retrospective Cohort Study

Miroslav Herceg orcid.org/0000-0002-9008-9146 ; Department of Integral Psychiatry, Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Vlado Jukić ; Department of Integral Psychiatry, Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj Vidović ; Department of Integral Psychiatry, Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Viktorija Erdeljić ; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Zagreb University Hospital Center, Croatia
Ivan Ćelić ; Department of Integral Psychiatry, Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Oliver Kozumplik ; Department of Integral Psychiatry, Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Dario Bagarić ; Department of Integral Psychiatry, Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
Maja Silobrčić Radić ; Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Aim To determine if atypical antipsychotic agents reduce the rehospitalization
rates of patients with newly diagnosed or chronic schizophrenia
in comparison with typical antipsychotic drugs.
Methods From January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2004, we retrospectively
compared two-year rehospitalization rates of 135 patients with newly
diagnosed schizophrenia and 398 patients with chronic schizophrenia
(62% and 65% men, respectively), who were initially discharged from
Vrapče Psychiatric Hospital, Zagreb, with the prescription of atypical
(olanzapine, risperidone or clozapine) or typical (haloperidol or fluphenazine)
antipsychotic treatment between January 1, 2002 and December
31, 2002. Time-to-readmission was determined with Kaplan-Meier formula
for survival analysis.
Results In the two-year follow-up, 52 (39%) newly diagnosed patients
and 197 (47%) patients with chronic schizophrenia were rehospitalized.
No significant differences in time-to-rehospitalization were observed
with respect to the type of medications in patients with newly diagnosed
schizophrenia (P = 0.378) or patients with chronic schizophrenia
(P = 0.531).
Conclusions. Rehospitalization rates of patients who were prescribed
atypical antipsychotic drugs were similar to those of patients who were
prescribed typical antipsychotic drugs for both the group with the first
psychotic episode and group with chronic schizophrenia.

Keywords

antipsychotic agents; patient readmission; schizophrenia

Hrčak ID:

26160

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/26160

Publication date:

15.4.2008.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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