Effectiveness of Community Treatment Order in Patients with a First Episode of Psychosis: A Mirror-Image Study.

OBJECTIVE: Poor adherence to antipsychotic medications is strongly associated with psychotic relapses and hospitalizations. This may hinder patients' ability to function, particularly in a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Poor adherence to treatment may be due to poor insight that can alter the capacity to consent to care, including pharmacotherapy. When patients are judged legally lacking the capacity to consent to care, treatment can be mandated through community treatment orders (CTOs). This naturalistic study examines the effects of CTOs in FEP patients. METHOD: This study examines 38 FEP patients legally deemed unable to consent to care during their follow-up. Using a naturalistic mirror-image approach, we compare clinical (Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms [SAPS], Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms [SANS]), functional (Global Assessment of Functioning Scale [GAF], Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale [SOFAS]), and service use (number of emergency room visits, length of hospitalizations) indicators before and after CTO. RESULTS: After the CTO, 37 of 38 patients complied with treatment. Statistically significant improvements in clinical (▵SAPS = -6.3; 95% CI, 4.5 to 8.1 and ▵SANS = -2.2; 95% CI, 0.9 to 3.4, P < 0.01) and functional (▵GAF = +15.0; 95% CI, 8.4 to 21.6, ▵SOFAS = +18.6; 95% CI, 12.8 to 24.4, P < 0.01) outcomes were observed. Significant reduction in emergency room visits ( P = 0.016) and days of hospitalization per month in acute care units ( P < 0.05) were identified with no difference in hospital days per month in short-stay units. Moreover, encounters with case managers ( P = 0.008) and attendance of cognitive therapy sessions ( P = 0.031) were significantly higher. However, patients' weight significantly increased after CTO (▵weight = +8.0 kg, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In FEP patients, CTOs improve compliance to treatment, which contributes to reducing positive and negative symptoms, shortening hospital stays, and improving functioning.

Psychotic disorders comorbid with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: an important knowledge gap.

Psychotic disorders (PDs) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are frequently comorbid. Clinicians are often reticent to treat ADHD in patients with psychosis, fearing that psychostimulants will worsen psychotic symptoms. Advances in neurobiology have challenged the simplistic dichotomy where PD is considered a disorder of high dopamine (DA), treated by DA antagonists, and ADHD a disorder of low DA, treated by DA agonists. In our paper, we review the literature on comorbid ADHD and psychosis. Treating ADHD with psychostimulants may be considered in patients with PD who have been stabilized with antipsychotics (APs). Not treating ADHD may have consequences because ADHD may predispose patients to drug abuse, which further increases the risk of PD. Nevertheless, more systematic studies are needed as there remains some uncertainty on the combined use of APs and psychostimulants in comorbid PD and ADHD.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotics: recommendations for clinicians.

A major source of limitation to the real effectiveness of antipsychotics is the high rate of patient nonadherence or, more frequently, partial adherence. Using long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations is likely to reduce the impact of such adherence problems. Conversely, the use of LAIs in Canada remains low relative to many other jurisdictions. Based on effectiveness data from randomized control trials and other, less rigorous, studies, as well as our 2 qualitative studies exploring numerous issues around the use of LAIs, including their low use, we put forward 10 different recommendations for consideration by clinicians. These are also based on the experience of many clinicians and clinician scientists. These recommendations address mostly clinical challenges associated with the use of LAIs. Their application in clinical settings is illustrated in our report through several case examples highlighting the large variation across patients and different phases of illness. It is recommended that LAIs should be considered as a treatment option for psychotic disorders across all phases, including the first 2 to 5 critical years.

Une source importante de limitation de l'efficacité réelle des antipsychotiques est le taux élevé de non-observance ou plus souvent, d'observance partielle des patients. Recourir à des formules injectables à action prolongée (IAP) est susceptible de réduire l'effet de ces problèmes d'observance. À l'inverse, l'utilisation des IAP au Canada demeure faible relativement à de nombreux autres pays. Selon les données d'efficacité tirées d'essais randomisés contrôlés et d'autres études moins rigoureuses, ainsi que de nos 2 études qualitatives explorant de nombreuses questions liées à l'utilisation des IAP, y compris leur faible utilisation, nous présentons 10 différentes recommandations aux fins d'examen par les cliniciens. Celles-ci sont également basées sur l'expérience de nombreux cliniciens et scientifiques cliniciens, et abordent surtout les problèmes cliniques associés à l'utilisation des IAP. Leur application en milieu clinique est illustrée dans notre rapport par plusieurs exemples de cas mettant en évidence la vaste variation entre les patients et les différentes phases de la maladie. Il est recommandé de considérer les IAP comme option de traitement pour toutes les phases des troubles psychotiques, y compris les 2 à 5 premières années cruciales.

Medication-adherent first-episode psychosis patients also relapse: why?

OBJECTIVE: Poor adherence to medication is a major determinant of relapse following treatment of first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, medication-adherent patients also relapse. We examined what factors influence the risk of relapse after controlling for adherence. METHOD: We selected a sample of fully adherent patients (n = 65) who had achieved remission at one point. We then compared patients who relapsed, using 2 different definitions of relapse, to those who did not relapse by 12 months on age, sex, premorbid adjustment, duration of untreated psychosis, length of prodrome, and substance abuse. RESULTS: Among the 65 medication-adherent patients in remission, 9 (14%) relapsed according to criteria for relapse requiring a change in medication. These patients differed from those who remained in remission only in the pattern of premorbid adjustment (greater proportion with deteriorating pattern), although this was not independent of other variables. No differences were found on any other variable. Using a more commonly used metric for relapse, based on symptom ratings alone, an additional 14 (21.5%) patients relapsed. Substance abuse significantly predicted relapse, with substance abusers having more than 25 times the odds of relapsing by 12 months (OR 25.6; 95% CI 2.4 to 278.1, P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Using a more conservative definition of relapse in this adherent-to-medication population, we find a very low rate of relapse associated, at least partially, with poor premorbid adjustment. As substance abuse was a significant predictor of symptomatic relapse, this would suggest that there should be a greater emphasis on interventions focused on reducing substance abuse in FEP.

Diabetes, tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism, and akathisia in schizophrenia: a retrospective study applying 1998 diabetes health care guidelines to antipsychotic use.

BACKGROUND: This study examines the links among diabetes, tardive dyskinesia (TD), and other extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) in schizophrenia outpatients treated with typical and atypical antipsychotics. OBJECTIVES: Using a retrospective chart review, we compared 30 schizophrenia patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) with 30 schizophrenia patients, matched for age and sex, with no DM. We compared prevalence and severity of parkinsonism, akathisia, TD, dystonia, and antipsychotic type (that is, typical vs atypical). RESULTS: We found no statistically significant differences between the DM group and the non-DM group prevalence and severity of EPS, including TD. CONCLUSION: We did not find DM and TD association to be significant in the era of atypical antipsychotics, possibly because of their antidyskinetic effect.

Migraine headache prophylaxis and treatment with low-dose mirtazapine.

Other than amitriptyline, few antidepressants have shown consistent efficacy in migraine treatment prophylaxis. Only one other case supporting the use of mirtazapine for migraine prophylaxis has been reported. To our knowledge, there are no reports suggesting dose dependence in mirtazapine effectiveness for migraine treatment, nor proposals to explain the mechanism of this effect. A 25-year-old patient was followed in our outpatient department for DSM-IV treatment-resistant recurrent major depression. Multiple antidepressants were used and discontinued because of migraine exacerbation. Mirtazapine was then initiated for residual depressive symptoms. Decreased frequency and intensity of migraines were observed with low-dose mirtazapine, which reoccurred with higher doses. Migraine treatment with mirtazapine can be explained through two possible mechanisms. First, mirtazapine prevents migraine initiation through histamine and 5-HT(2) receptor family inhibition. Second, it treats migraines through 5-HT(1) receptor family activation. However, at higher doses, histamine activation may explain reoccurrence of migraines.