background The relative effectiveness of second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs as compared with that of older agents has been incompletely addressed, though newer agents are currently used far more commonly. We compared a first-generation antipsychotic, perphenazine, with several newer drugs in a double-blind study. methods A total of 1493 patients with schizophrenia were recruited at 57 U.S. sites and randomly assigned to receive olanzapine (7.5 to 30 mg per day), perphenazine (8 to 32 mg per day), quetiapine (200 to 800 mg per day), or risperidone (1.5 to 6.0 mg per day) for up to 18 months. Ziprasidone (40 to 160 mg per day) was included after its approval by the Food and Drug Administration. The primary aim was to delineate differences in the overall effectiveness of these five treatments. results Overall, 74 percent of patients discontinued the study medication before 18 months (1061 of the 1432 patients who received at least one dose): 64 percent of those assigned to olanzapine, 75 percent of those assigned to perphenazine, 82 percent of those assigned to quetiapine, 74 percent of those assigned to risperidone, and 79 percent of those assigned to ziprasidone. The time to the discontinuation of treatment for any cause was significantly longer in the olanzapine group than in the quetiapine (P<0.001) or risperidone (P=0.002) group, but not in the perphenazine (P=0.021) or ziprasidone (P=0.028) group. The times to discontinuation because of intolerable side effects were similar among the groups, but the rates differed (P=0.04); olanzapine was associated with more discontinuation for weight gain or metabolic effects, and perphenazine was associated with more discontinuation for extrapyramidal effects. conclusions The majority of patients in each group discontinued their assigned treatment owing to inefficacy or intolerable side effects or for other reasons. Olanzapine was the most effective in terms of the rates of discontinuation, and the efficacy of the conventional antipsychotic agent perphenazine appeared similar to that of quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone. Olanzapine was associated with greater weight gain and increases in measures of glucose and lipid metabolism.

/pdf/effectiveness-of-antipsychotic-drugs-in-patients-with-8hte8vymdc.pdf

Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Drugs in Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia

New advances in the understanding of schizophrenia etiology, course, and treatment have increased interest on the part of patients, families, advocates, and professionals in the development of consensus-defined standards for clinical status and improvement, including illness remission and recovery As demonstrated in the area of mood disorders, such standards provide greater clarity around treatment goals, as well as an improved framework for the design and comparison of investigational trials and the subsequent evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions Unlike the approach to mood disorders, however, the novel application of the concept of standard outcome criteria to schizophrenia must reflect the wide heterogeneity of its long-term course and outcome, as well as the variable effects of different treatments on schizophrenia symptoms As an initial step in developing operational criteria, an expert working group reviewed available definitions and assessment instruments to provide a conceptual framework for symptomatic, functional, and cognitive domains in schizophrenia as they relate to remission of illness The first consensus-based operational criteria for symptomatic remission in schizophrenia are based on distinct thresholds for reaching and maintaining improvement, as opposed to change criteria, allowing for alignment with traditional concepts of remission in both psychiatric and nonpsychiatric illness This innovative approach for standardizing the definition for outcome in schizophrenia will require further examination of its validity and utility, as well as future refinement, particularly in relation to psychosocial and cognitive function and dysfunction These criteria should facilitate research and support a positive, longer-term approach to studying outcome in patients with schizophrenia

/pdf/remission-in-schizophrenia-proposed-criteria-and-rationale-3m92kxf73k.pdf

Remission in Schizophrenia: Proposed Criteria and Rationale for Consensus

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS014067360861764X.pdf

Second-generation versus first-generation antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia: a meta-analysis

Vision for Transformation Strengths: The SHSIP describes a holistic transformation plan and ensures connections between various plan components. The State’s Plan seeks to reward health care providers for better care, smarter spending, and healthier people through higher quality, instead of quantity of services by utilizing valuebased purchasing across public and private payers. The SHSIP provides a well-detailed description of the proposed value-based models of care through the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model, resulting in the statewide implementation of Accountable Health Communities (AHCs). The SHSIP outlines a long-term vision of building and expanding the PCMH model into a Community Centered Health Homes (CCHHs) model, which will focus on prevention and collaboration with other communitybased organizations. Another strength identified is the amount of existing PCMHs operating within the State. The SHSIP provides a course of action to assist non-PCMH practices to become nationally certified, as well as, goals for a single, statewide PCMH model to be used by all providers and payers within the state. The implementation of the AHCs will be key in addressing social determinants of health within various communities and seems to align well with the PCMH goals. This focus on population and community health will enable the State to make a broader impact and support the long-term goal of moving towards a CCHH model. The focus on the improvement of clinical, behavioral, and oral health care within the urban, rural, and frontier communities is well aligned and consistent with the SIM goals and the overall Triple Aim initiative. Figure 18: Driver Diagram clearly shows how the State plans to achieve the Triple Aim by 2020.

Department of health & human services

Background We examined relapse after response to a first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Methods Patients with first-episode schizophrenia were assessed on measures of psychopathologic variables, cognition, social functioning, and biological variables and treated according to a standardized algorithm. The sample for the relapse analyses consisted of 104 patients who responded to treatment of their index episode and were at risk for relapse. Results Five years after initial recovery, the cumulative first relapse rate was 81.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 70.6%-93.2%); the second relapse rate was 78.0% (95% CI, 46.5%-100.0%). By 4 years after recovery from a second relapse, the cumulative third relapse rate was 86.2% (95% CI, 61.5%-100.0%). Discontinuing antipsychotic drug therapy increased the risk of relapse by almost 5 times (hazard ratio for an initial relapse, 4.89 [99% CI, 2.49-9.60]; hazard ratio for a second relapse, 4.57 [99% CI, 1.49-14.02]). Subsequent analyses controlling for antipsychotic drug use showed that patients with poor premorbid adaptation to school and premorbid social withdrawal relapsed earlier. Sex, diagnosis, obstetric complications, duration of psychotic illness before treatment, baseline symptoms, neuroendocrine measures, methylphenidate hydrochloride challenge response, neuropsychologic and magnetic resonance imaging measures, time to response of the initial episode, adverse effects during treatment, and presence of residual symptoms after the initial episode were not significantly related to time to relapse. Conclusions There is a high rate of relapse within 5 years of recovery from a first episode of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. This risk is diminished by maintenance antipsychotic drug treatment.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/articlepdf/204795/yoa8094.pdf

T. W. Hester

Papers

Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia