Outcome of patients after market withdrawal of thioridazine: a retrospective analysis in a nationwide cohort.

Objective: Thioridazine is a first-generation antipsychotic drug that was withdrawn from the market worldwide in 2005. The outcome of clinically stable schizophrenia patients who used thioridazine before market withdrawal was evaluated.
Methods: Nationwide registers in Finland were utilized to study thioridazine use, hospitalization rate and length of hospital stay.
Results: Although thioridazine use continued to diminish year after year, the hospitalization rate remained constant until the withdrawal year of 2005, when the percentage of patients hospitalized for schizophrenia doubled.
Conclusion: The market withdrawal of thioridazine predisposed many stable patients towards psychotic relapses. In order to minimize this kind of risk, an overall risk-benefit assessment and a clear-cut plan for the replacement of an antipsychotic should be established before market withdrawal.
(Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)