For people with schizophrenia hospitalized after a psychotic episode, getting a long-acting antipsychotic injection works far better than pills to keep them from returning to hospital care. That’s the finding of a new study from researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. They found that injected antipsychotic meds — which provide continuous treatment from two weeks up to six months — were 75% more effective in reducing rehospitalization, compared to the same meds in pill form.
“I suspect the lower readmission rate that has been observed with long-acting injections has more to do with people forgetting to take a pill each and every day than with any inherent superiority of the injectable medication,” noted study lead author Dr. Daniel Greer, a clinical assistant professor at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. To read the full story.