Prescribing practice of long-acting injectable antipsychotics

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Introduction: Nonadherence to treatment is one of the main problems that prevent treatment outcomes in schizophrenia. Long-acting injectable antipsychotic (LAIA) simplifies the treatment process and improves the adherence and health-related outcomes. The prescription pattern of antipsychotics in psychiatric and nonpsychiatric wards is well studied. Whereas the patterns of long-acting injectable (LAI) are not yet documented. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the pattern and prescription of LAI in a university hospital in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This single-centered, retrospective study was conducted in a university teaching hospital in Khobar city over a period of 6 months. Patients of all ages and either gender with a psychiatric diagnosis or received at least a single depot injection over a period of 1 year were included in the study. Results: A total of 101 patients were included in the study; a male predominance was observed in (64%) our study patients. One half of the study patients have a long history (10 years and more) of psychiatric problems. Of the total 313 medications, 176 (55.7%) and 137 (43.3%) were psychotropic and nonpsychotropic medications, respectively. Zuclopenthixol (n = 48) and haloperidol (n = 10) were the commonly prescribed first-generation LAIAs, whereas risperidone (40) was the only one second-generation LAIA preferred in the study site. Befere the Initiation of LAIA ,majority (67%)of the patients received a trial of antipsychotices orally. Conclusion: The study delivers the evidence of LAIA utilization in a psychiatric unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. LAIAs were the choice not solitary for schizophrenic-like ailments. The utilization pattern is similar to both-generation LAIs. More studies are required to focus the safety and efficacy concerns of LAIA.