[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1177/20451253241243242.].
Background: Psychedelics are receiving growing interest among clinical researchers for their effects on mood and cognition. Psilocybin is one of the most widely studied classic psychedelics which has shown good safety and clinical benefit for major depression and substance use disorders. Athletes frequently sustain concussions and often experience myriad symptoms, including cognitive and mood issues, which can persist for weeks or months in 10%-30% of athletes. Psilocybin may be a potential symptom management option for athletes with persisting concussion symptoms.
Objectives: This study sought to summarize athlete psychedelic use, among other substances, and to examine the willingness of the sports community to engage in or support psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) for concussion recovery and management of persisting concussion symptoms.
Methods: In total, 175 (n = 85 athletes; n = 90 staff) respondents completed an online survey distributed in Canada and the United States which queried sport involvement and demographics, substance use, concussion history, and knowledge and willingness about psilocybin. The reporting of this study conforms to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES) statement.
Design: Substance use rates were summarized across athletes and team staff members and a path analysis was used for each sample to identify predictors of willingness to use PAT (athletes) or support PAT (staff) for concussion recovery. Participants were also asked to identify perceived barriers to the implementation of PAT for sports-related concussions, and to indicate their overall willingness.
Results: Psychedelics were the third most used substance in the past year among athletes (35.8%) while regular psychedelic use was quite low in athletes (7.5%). A path analysis conducted in RStudio found that attitudes toward psilocybin and knowledge of psilocybin were significant predictors for both athletes and staff members of their willingness to use or support PAT for concussion recovery. Athletes reported likely engaging in PAT (61.2%) and staff (71.1%) reported that they would support their athletes using PAT.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the sports community may be receptive to PAT and athletes would be willing to engage in it for concussion recovery and/or the management of persisting post-concussion symptoms (PPCS). Future research should examine the effects of psilocybin for PPCS to inform whether there is any impact while addressing concerns regarding long-term effects of psilocybin use.
Background: Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) have advantages over oral antipsychotics (OAPs) in preventing relapse and hospitalization in chronically ill patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs), but evidence in patients with first-episode/recent-onset, that is, early-phase-SSDs is less clear.
Objectives: To assess the relative medium- and long-term efficacy and safety of LAIs versus OAPs in the maintenance treatment of patients with early-phase SSDs.
Method: We searched major electronic databases for head-to-head randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing LAIs and OAPs for the maintenance treatment of patients with early-phase-SSDs.
Design: Pairwise, random-effects meta-analysis. Relapse/hospitalization and acceptability (all-cause discontinuation) measured at study-endpoint were co-primary outcomes, calculating risk ratios (RRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses sought to identify factors moderating differences in efficacy or acceptability between LAIs and OAPs.
Results: Across 11 head-to-head RCTs (n = 2374, median age = 25.2 years, males = 68.4%, median illness duration = 45.8 weeks) lasting 13-104 (median = 78) weeks, no significant differences emerged between LAIs and OAPs for relapse/hospitalization prevention (RR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.58-1.06, p = 0.13) and acceptability (RR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.80-1.05, p = 0.20). The included trials were highly heterogeneous regarding methodology and patient populations. LAIs outperformed OAPs in preventing relapse/hospitalization in studies with stable patients (RR = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.45-0.92), pragmatic design (RR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.54-0.82), and strict intent-to-treat approach (RR = 0.64, 95%CI = 0.52-0.80). Furthermore, LAIs were associated with better acceptability in studies with schizophrenia patients only (RR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.79-0.95), longer illness duration (RR = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.80-0.97), unstable patients (RR = 0.89, 95%CI = 0.81-0.99) and allowed OAP supplementation of LAIs (RR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.81-0.99).
Conclusion: LAIs and OAPs did not differ significantly regarding relapse prevention/hospitalization and acceptability. However, in nine subgroup analyses, LAIs were superior to OAPs in patients with EP-SSDs with indicators of higher quality and/or pragmatic design regarding relapse/hospitalization prevention (four subgroup analyses) and/or reduced all-cause discontinuation (five subgroup analyses), without any instance of OAP superiority versus LAIs. More high-quality pragmatic trials comparing LAIs with OAPs in EP-SSDs are needed.
Trial registration: CRD42023407120 (PROSPERO).

