Role of long acting injection in treatment of schizophrenia: literature review

Schizophrenia, prevalent in approximately 1% of the UK adult population, characterized by severe and chronic symptoms remains a challenge for the health care services providers, health researchers and policy-makers. Antipsychotic therapy has been indicated as the primary choice of treatment for schizophrenia, supported by leading American Psychological Association, National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute for Clinical Excellence. However, absolute non-compliance or partial compliance to antipsychotic therapy is common in schizophrenia and is a strong predictor of worsening symptoms, augmented chance of relapse, hospitalization and further resistance to antipsychotic treatment. The administration of depot by the clinicians provides an advantage of being in close contact with the patients and provide follow-up if an appointment is missed, which is likely to increase adherence to treatment, and consequently reduce relapse and hospitalization. The potential advantages of Long-Acting Injection (LAI/Depot) antipsychotic therapy look promising in reducing the economic burden of this big budget problem. However, inconsistencies in the results of studies comparing cost effectiveness of oral and depot antipsychotic therapy limits our understanding of any true benefit of using depot antipsychotics.