1. Efficacy of oral versus long-acting antipsychotic treatment in patients with early-phase schizophrenia in Europe and Israel: a large-scale, open-label, randomised trial (EULAST)
- Author
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Winter-van Rossum, I. Weiser, M. Galderisi, S. Leucht, S. Bitter, I. Glenthøj, B. Hasan, A. Luykx, J. Kupchik, M. Psota, G. Rocca, P. Stefanis, N. Teitelbaum, A. Bar Haim, M. Leucht, C. Kemmler, G. Schurr, T. Kahn, R.S. Fleischhacker, W.W. Davidson, M. Mosescu, M. Umoh, G. Hranov, L. Hofer, A. Cordes, J. Nilforooshan, R. Bobes, J. Reitan, S.K. Morrens, M. Nirestean, A. Geddes, J. Crespo Faccorro, B. Olajossy, M. Rossi, A. Johnsen, E. László, C. Ciobanu, A. Haddad, P. Oife, I. Bernardo, M. Stan, R. Jarema, M. Rujescu, D. Ustohal, L. Mayfield, N. Dazzan, P. Valevski, A. Libiger, J. Köhler, R. Mohr, P. Pappa, S. Drosos, P. Barnes, T. DeClercq, E. Wagner, E. Bucci, P. Mucci, A. Rabinowitz, Y. Adamopoulous, A. Draiman, B. Montemagni, C. Greslechner, M. Herlihy, H. Bolyos, C. Kraepelin-Schmidt, C. TRUE, J. Alvarez Garcia, L. Walla, B. Sabbe, B. Emese, L. Mather, S. Skoczen, N. Parnanzone, S. Bjarke, J. Karácsonyi, K. Lankshear, S. Garriga, M. Wichniak, A. Baumbach, H. Willebrands, L. Nasib, L. Okhuijsen-Pfeifer, C. Huijsman, E. Kahn, R.S. Fleischhacker, W.W. EULAST Study Group and Winter-van Rossum, I. Weiser, M. Galderisi, S. Leucht, S. Bitter, I. Glenthøj, B. Hasan, A. Luykx, J. Kupchik, M. Psota, G. Rocca, P. Stefanis, N. Teitelbaum, A. Bar Haim, M. Leucht, C. Kemmler, G. Schurr, T. Kahn, R.S. Fleischhacker, W.W. Davidson, M. Mosescu, M. Umoh, G. Hranov, L. Hofer, A. Cordes, J. Nilforooshan, R. Bobes, J. Reitan, S.K. Morrens, M. Nirestean, A. Geddes, J. Crespo Faccorro, B. Olajossy, M. Rossi, A. Johnsen, E. László, C. Ciobanu, A. Haddad, P. Oife, I. Bernardo, M. Stan, R. Jarema, M. Rujescu, D. Ustohal, L. Mayfield, N. Dazzan, P. Valevski, A. Libiger, J. Köhler, R. Mohr, P. Pappa, S. Drosos, P. Barnes, T. DeClercq, E. Wagner, E. Bucci, P. Mucci, A. Rabinowitz, Y. Adamopoulous, A. Draiman, B. Montemagni, C. Greslechner, M. Herlihy, H. Bolyos, C. Kraepelin-Schmidt, C. TRUE, J. Alvarez Garcia, L. Walla, B. Sabbe, B. Emese, L. Mather, S. Skoczen, N. Parnanzone, S. Bjarke, J. Karácsonyi, K. Lankshear, S. Garriga, M. Wichniak, A. Baumbach, H. Willebrands, L. Nasib, L. Okhuijsen-Pfeifer, C. Huijsman, E. Kahn, R.S. Fleischhacker, W.W. EULAST Study Group
- Abstract
Background: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with periods of remission and relapse. As discontinuation of antipsychotic medication is the most important reason for relapse, long-term maintenance treatment is key. Whether intramuscular long-acting (depot) antipsychotics are more efficacious than oral medication in preventing medication discontinuation is still unresolved. We aimed to compare time to all-cause discontinuation in patients randomly allocated to long-acting injectable (LAI) versus oral medication. Methods: EULAST was a pragmatic, randomised, open-label trial conducted at 50 general hospitals and psychiatric specialty clinics in 15 European countries and Israel. Patients aged 18 years and older, with DSM-IV schizophrenia (as confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5 plus) and having experienced their first psychotic episode from 6 months to 7 years before screening, were randomly allocated (1:1:1:1) using block randomisation to LAI paliperidone, LAI aripiprazole, or the respective oral formulations of these antipsychotics. Randomisation was stratified by country and duration of illness (6 months up to 3 years vs 4 to 7 years). Patients were followed up for up to 19 months. The primary endpoint was discontinuation, regardless of the reason, during 19 months of treatment. We used survival analysis to assess the time until all-cause discontinuation in the intention-to-treat (ITT) group, and per protocol analyses were also done. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02146547, and is complete. Findings: Between Feb 24, 2015, and Dec 15, 2018, 533 individuals were recruited and assessed for eligibility. The ITT population included 511 participants, with 171 (33%) women and 340 (67%) men, and a mean age of 30·5 (SD 9·6) years. 410 (80%) of 511 participants were White, 35 (7%) were Black, 20 (4%) were Asian, and 46 (9%) were other ethnicity. In the combined oral antipsychotics treatment group of 247 patients, 72
- Published
- 2023