Clinician Scientist and Psychiatrist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Manager of Data & Analytics Centre, 41697Janssen Inc.
Can J Psychiatry. 2022 Mar;67(3):226-234. doi: 10.1177/07067437211055413. Epub 2021 Nov 18.
The objective of this study was to analyze the real-world prevalence of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic use and determine when LAIs are being used in sequencing of antipsychotic medications among Canadian patients with schizophrenia. This was a retrospective, longitudinal cohort study using Canadian pharmacy prescription data between August 2005 and June 2017. Patients with inferred schizophrenia spectrum disorder were indexed on the date of their first antipsychotic prescription and analyzed for minimum 12 months to track lines of antipsychotic therapy and LAI utilization. A total of 16,300 patients were identified for analysis. 48.2% and 46.0% of index antipsychotic prescriptions were prescribed by a general practitioner/family medicine doctor and psychiatrist, respectively. 1,062 (6.5%) patients used an LAI during the study period. Of those patients, 789 used an LAI within two years of index (74.3% of LAI users; 4.8% of all patients). The majority of LAI use (62.0%) occurred in the third line of therapy or later. 65.0% of patients had tried at least two therapy lines, and most patients reported gaps of six months to one year between treatment lines. Despite their potential to reduce relapse in schizophrenia by improving treatment adherence, this study shows LAIs continue to be under-utilized in Canada. When used, LAIs are positioned late in sequencing of antipsychotic medications, often not initiated until years after diagnosis. Continued preference for oral APs with poor adherence may be negatively impacting prognosis and exacerbating burden of schizophrenia. Efforts should be invested to understand barriers to LAI uptake and advocate for earlier, widespread use of LAIs.
本研究旨在分析长效注射型(LAI)抗精神病药物在加拿大精神分裂症患者中的实际应用情况,并确定 LAI 在抗精神病药物序贯治疗中的应用时机。这是一项回顾性、纵向队列研究,使用加拿大药房处方数据,时间范围为 2005 年 8 月至 2017 年 6 月。推断患有精神分裂症谱系障碍的患者,以其首次抗精神病药物处方日期为索引日期,分析至少 12 个月,以跟踪抗精神病药物治疗线和 LAI 的使用情况。共纳入 16300 例患者进行分析。索引抗精神病药物处方中,分别有 48.2%和 46.0%由全科医生/家庭医生和精神科医生开具。研究期间,共有 1062 例(6.5%)患者使用 LAI。其中,789 例(LAI 使用者的 74.3%;所有患者的 4.8%)在索引后两年内使用 LAI。大多数 LAI 应用(62.0%)发生在三线或三线以上治疗。65.0%的患者至少尝试过两种治疗线,大多数患者报告治疗线之间存在 6 个月至 1 年的间隔。尽管 LAI 通过提高治疗依从性降低精神分裂症复发的潜力,但本研究表明加拿大 LAI 的使用仍不足。当使用 LAI 时,通常在诊断多年后才开始将其置于抗精神病药物序贯治疗的后期位置。继续偏爱依从性差的口服抗精神病药物可能会对预后产生负面影响,并加重精神分裂症的负担。应投入精力了解 LAI 应用的障碍,并倡导更广泛地早期使用 LAI。