Polypharmacy of schizophrenia.

Abstract

In this article, we investigated the current practice for treatment of schizophrenia. According to our data, physicians consider one-product regimens 53 percent of the time. Two-product regimens are considered 29 percent of the time, and regimens of three or more products are considered 18 percent of the time. At the point of the patient visit, antipsychotic medications comprise 97 percent of treatment regimens. Fifty-six percent of treatment regimens involve only antipsychotic medications. Classes used to supplement antipsychotic medications in the treatment of schizophrenia include antidepressants (20%), mood stabilizers (15%), anti-anxiety (7%) drugs, and drugs to treat extrapyramidal symptoms (6%). An expert commentary is also included with the data.