Duration of Hospitalization According to the Type of Treatment in Patients Diagnosed With Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder with the most severe and devastating effect on a person’s life. Given that schizophrenia treatments have different effects on the duration of hospitalization and reduction of positive and negative symptoms, we decided to conduct a study to evaluate the duration of hospitalization according to the type of treatment in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in Ebn-e-Sina hospital in Bandar Abbas. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study, the files of 75 patients with schizophrenia admitted to the psychiatric ward of Ebn-e-Sina hospital in 2019-2020 were included after obtaining the approval of the ethics committee. A group of patients was treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and typical antipsychotic drugs, and another with ECT and atypical antipsychotic medications until the acute phase of the disease subsided. The patient’s file information was summarized and arranged in a checklist prepared by the researcher and then statistically analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: The patients’ most commonly received treatment was typical and atypical antipsychotic medications combined with ECT (60.0%), followed by combination therapy (29.30%), atypical antipsychotic medications (8.00%), and typical antipsychotic medications (2.70%), respectively. Considering the specific objectives of this study, it was found that the mean length of hospital stay in the 4 treatment groups was significantly different (P=0.006). Conclusion: The duration of hospitalization in the combined with ECT group was significantly longer compared to the others.