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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Schizophrenia | Research article

Prescription practices in the treatment of agitation in newly hospitalized Chinese schizophrenia patients: data from a non-interventional naturalistic study

Authors: Su-Zhen Zhang, Yong-Gang Mu, Qi Liu, Ying Shi, Li-Hua Guo, Ling-Zhi Li, Fu-De Yang, Yong Wang, Tao Li, Qi-Yi Mei, Hong-Bo He, Zhi-Yu Chen, Zhong-Hua Su, Tie-Bang Liu, Shi-Ping Xie, Qing-Rong Tan, Jin-Bei Zhang, Cong-Pei Zhang, Hong Sang, Wei-Feng Mi, Hong-Yan Zhang

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Background

Data on the pharmacological management of acute agitation in schizophrenia are scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate the prescription practices in the treatment of agitation in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

Methods

We conducted a large, multicenter, observational study in 14 psychiatry hospitals in China. Newly hospitalized schizophrenia patients with the PANSS-EC total score ≥ 14 and a value ≥4 on at least one of its five items were included in the study. Their drug treatments of the first 2 weeks in hospital were recorded by the researchers.

Results

Eight hundred and 53 patients enrolled in and 847 (99.30%) completed the study. All participants were prescribed antipsychotics, 40 (4.72%) were prescribed benzodiazepine in conjunction with antipsychotics and 81 were treated with modified electric convulsive therapy (MECT). Four hundred and 12 (48.64%) patients were prescribed only one antipsychotic, in the order of olanzapine (120 patients, 29.13%), followed by risperidone (101 patients, 24.51%) and clozapine (41 patients, 9.95%). About 435 (51.36%) participants received antipsychotic polypharmacy, mostly haloperidol + risperidone (23.45%), haloperidol+ olanzapine (17.01%), olanzapine+ ziprasidone (5.30%), haloperidol + clozapine (4.37%) and haloperidol + quetiapine (3.90%). Binary logistic regression analysis suggests that a high BARS score (OR 2.091, 95%CI 1.140–3.124), severe agitation (OR 1.846, 95%CL 1.266–2.693), unemployment or retirement (OR 1.614, 95%CL 1.189–2.190) and aggressiveness on baseline (OR 1.469, 95%CL 1.032–2.091) were related to an increased antipsychotic polypharmacy odds. Male sex (OR 0.592, 95%CL 0.436–0.803) and schizophrenia in older persons (age ≥ 55 years, OR 0.466, 95%CL 0.240–0.902) were less likely to be associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates that monotherapy and polypharmacy display equally common patterns of antipsychotic usage in managing agitation associated with schizophrenia in China. The extent and behavioral activities of agitation and several other factors were associated with polypharmacy.
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Metadata
Title
Prescription practices in the treatment of agitation in newly hospitalized Chinese schizophrenia patients: data from a non-interventional naturalistic study
Authors
Su-Zhen Zhang
Yong-Gang Mu
Qi Liu
Ying Shi
Li-Hua Guo
Ling-Zhi Li
Fu-De Yang
Yong Wang
Tao Li
Qi-Yi Mei
Hong-Bo He
Zhi-Yu Chen
Zhong-Hua Su
Tie-Bang Liu
Shi-Ping Xie
Qing-Rong Tan
Jin-Bei Zhang
Cong-Pei Zhang
Hong Sang
Wei-Feng Mi
Hong-Yan Zhang
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2192-6

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