Short-term rehospitalizations in young adults with schizophrenia treated with once-monthly paliperidone palmitate or oral atypical antipsychotics: a retrospective analysis.

To compare rehospitalizations in patients with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) vs oral atypical antipsychotics (OAAs), with a focus on young adults (18-35 years). The Premier Healthcare database (January 2009-December 2016) was used to identify hospitalizations of adults (≥18 years) with schizophrenia treated with PP1M or OAA between September 2009 and October 2016 (index hospitalizations). Rehospitalizations were assessed at 30, 60, and 90 days after each index hospitalization in young adults and in all patients. Proportions of index hospitalizations resulting in rehospitalization were reported and compared between groups using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 8578 PP1M and 306,252 OAA index hospitalizations were included. Hospitalized young adults treated with PP1M ( = 3791) were more likely to be seen by a psychiatrist (94.0% vs 90.0%), and had a longer length of stay (12.5 vs 8.6 days) compared to hospitalized young adults treated with OAA ( = 96,502). Following their discharge, young adults receiving PP1M during an index hospitalization had a 25-27% lower odds of rehospitalization within 30, 60, and 90 days compared to young adults receiving OAAs (all  < .001). Similarly, when observing all patients, those receiving PP1M during an index hospitalization had 19-22% lower odds of rehospitalization within 30, 60, and 90 days compared to those receiving OAAs (all  < .001). Following a hospitalization for schizophrenia, PP1M treatment was associated with fewer 90-day rehospitalizations among young adults (18-35 years) relative to OAA treatment. This finding was also observed in other hospitalized adults with schizophrenia.