OBJECTIVE: To examine hospitalisation rates and resource utilisation following initiation of risperidone long-acting therapy (RLAT) among US veterans with schizophrenia. METHODS: Encounter data were analysed from the Ohio Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. Adult patients (schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) with ≥1 medical or hospital visits with a diagnosis code of 295.xx, continuous enrolment from January 2003 through January 2006, and ≥4 injections of RLAT were selected. Analyses compared psychiatric-related resource utilisation pre- and post-exposure to RLAT; each patient served as his/her own control. The pre-exposure and post-exposure periods defined were equal in duration (e.g., a 6-month post-exposure period was matched with a 6-month pre-exposure period). Descriptive and comparative analyses (paired t tests, McNemar's test) were performed. RESULTS: Patients (n=106) were 51.9 years old (+/-10.2), male (93%), white (73%) and received on average 14 RLAT doses (+/-9.7; range, 4-47 injections) over 309 days (+/-196; range, 42-737 days). Most experienced a psychiatric-related hospitalisation prior to initiation; less than half experienced hospitalisation after initiation (75% vs. 42%; p<0.001). Relative to pre-initiation, fewer psychiatric-related hospitalisations (mean [SD] change, -0.8 [2.0]; p<0.001), shorter length of stay (-25 [63.6] days; p<0.001), fewer inpatient days/month (-3.1 [7.2] days) and one (2.8) additional outpatient visit/month (p<0.001) occurred post-initiation. LIMITATIONS: The absence of a control group in this pre-/post comparison may have resulted in exposure to a regression to the mean effect. Also, this study evaluated only one cohort of patients in a VA healthcare setting. CONCLUSIONS: VA patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder treated with RLAT experienced fewer hospitalisations and psychiatric-related inpatient days following RLAT initiation. Further studies utilising a control group and in non-VA populations are warranted.
OBJECTIVE: To examine hospitalisation rates and resource utilisation following initiation of risperidone long-acting therapy (RLAT) among US veterans with schizophrenia. METHODS: Encounter data were analysed from the Ohio Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. Adult patients (schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) with ≥1 medical or hospital visits with a diagnosis code of 295.xx, continuous enrolment from January 2003 through January 2006, and ≥4 injections of RLAT were selected. Analyses compared psychiatric-related resource utilisation pre- and post-exposure to RLAT; each patient served as his/her own control. The pre-exposure and post-exposure periods defined were equal in duration (e.g., a 6-month post-exposure period was matched with a 6-month pre-exposure period). Descriptive and comparative analyses (paired t tests, McNemar's test) were performed. RESULTS:Patients (n=106) were 51.9 years old (+/-10.2), male (93%), white (73%) and received on average 14 RLAT doses (+/-9.7; range, 4-47 injections) over 309 days (+/-196; range, 42-737 days). Most experienced a psychiatric-related hospitalisation prior to initiation; less than half experienced hospitalisation after initiation (75% vs. 42%; p<0.001). Relative to pre-initiation, fewer psychiatric-related hospitalisations (mean [SD] change, -0.8 [2.0]; p<0.001), shorter length of stay (-25 [63.6] days; p<0.001), fewer inpatient days/month (-3.1 [7.2] days) and one (2.8) additional outpatient visit/month (p<0.001) occurred post-initiation. LIMITATIONS: The absence of a control group in this pre-/post comparison may have resulted in exposure to a regression to the mean effect. Also, this study evaluated only one cohort of patients in a VA healthcare setting. CONCLUSIONS: VA patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder treated with RLAT experienced fewer hospitalisations and psychiatric-related inpatient days following RLAT initiation. Further studies utilising a control group and in non-VA populations are warranted.
Authors: Concetta Crivera; Cherilyn DeSouza; Chris M Kozma; Riad D Dirani; Lian Mao; Wayne Macfadden Journal: BMC Psychiatry Date: 2011-10-14 Impact factor: 3.630
Authors: Marie-Hélène Lafeuille; François Laliberté-Auger; Patrick Lefebvre; Christian Frois; John Fastenau; Mei Sheng Duh Journal: BMC Psychiatry Date: 2013-09-10 Impact factor: 3.630
Authors: John M Kane; Cathy Zhao; Brian R Johnson; Ross A Baker; Anna Eramo; Robert D McQuade; Anna R Duca; Raymond Sanchez; Timothy Peters-Strickland Journal: J Med Econ Date: 2014-11-10 Impact factor: 2.448
Authors: John M Kane; Raymond Sanchez; Joan Zhao; Anna R Duca; Brian R Johnson; Robert D McQuade; Anna Eramo; Ross A Baker; Timothy Peters-Strickland Journal: J Med Econ Date: 2013-05-28 Impact factor: 2.448