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Meta-Analysis Finds Fewer Hospitalizations, Better Adherence With LAIs
Patients initiated on long-acting injectables (LAIs) for the treatment of schizophrenia had fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits, as well as a higher likelihood of medication adherence, compared with patients treated with oral antipsychotics, according to a poster presented at Psych Congress 2020.
“While multiple studies have compared adherence and relapse rates between patients with schizophrenia treated with long-acting injectables versus oral antipsychotics in the real world, there is no recent synthesis of these studies,” researchers wrote. “Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was conducted.”
The meta-analysis included 19 peer-reviewed, real-world studies published between January 1, 2010, and February 10, 2020, that reported hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and adherence in adults with schizophrenia treated with LAIs compared with oral antipsychotics.
For patients who initiated treatment with LAIs, compared with oral antipsychotics, the meta-analysis found lower odds of hospitalization (researchers reported an odds ratio of 0.63), fewer hospitalizations per patient per year (a weighted mean difference of 0.32), and fewer emergency department visits per patient per year (a weighted mean difference of 0.48).
Patients initiated on LAIs also had higher odds of adherence to medication. The meta-analysis identified a 1.57 odds ratio of having 80% or more days covered with LAIs, compared with oral antipsychotics.
“Taken together,” researchers concluded, “these findings provide additional evidence on the potential benefit of long-acting injectables compared with oral antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia in the real world, across multiple studies.”
Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, sponsored the study.
—Jolynn Tumolo
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