Inappropriate quetiapine use at a large academic medical center: frequency of misuse and associated costs of adverse effects.

Background: Quetiapine is an antipsychotic with dose-related receptor affinity, which is commonly prescribed by specialties outside of psychiatry. Quetiapine can have adverse effects including weight gain, hyperglycemia, and falls. Therefore, quetiapine is a good focus medication to assess the need for an antipsychotic stewardship protocol.

Objective: To assess the need for an antipsychotic stewardship protocol at a large, urban academic medical center by evaluating quetiapine usage.

Design: A retrospective review of quetiapine dispensing history for all strengths (immediate release: 25, 50, 100, 200, 300 mg; extended release: 50, 150, 200, 300 mg) over 1 year (1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022) in patients aged 18 and older was conducted at a large, urban academic medical center.

Methods: An antipsychotic protocol for safe and effective quetiapine use was developed utilizing its package insert, clinical guidelines, and primary peer-reviewed literature. Once identified by prescription fill, a retrospective chart review was completed for quetiapine indication, dose, and frequency. Each prescription was reviewed for appropriateness using the antipsychotic stewardship protocol.

Results: Out of 521 quetiapine prescriptions for 181 unique patients, 67% of scripts were inappropriate. The costs associated with this inappropriate use were extrapolated to be over $350,000 per year when accounting for long-term harms associated with the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and falls in older adults.

Conclusion: Promoting the safe and effective use of antipsychotics through developing and implementing an antipsychotic stewardship protocol may reduce patient harm and associated costs from inappropriate use.