High Rate of Discontinuation during Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotic Treatment in Patients with Psychotic Disorders

Treatment discontinuation is a major challenge in routine clinical settings. Despite poor adherence to antipsychotic medication, long acting injectable (LAI) formulations are an underutilized option in psychotic disorders. Recently, an earlier and broader use of LAIs has been emphasized. However, few studies have evaluated the factors associated with LAI antipsychotic discontinuation in ordinary clinical practice. The main purpose of the present study was, therefore, to identify the factors associated with LAI discontinuation in a real-world setting. Patients in treatment with LAI antipsychotics were recruited. A Cox regression analysis was applied considering a 12-month follow-up period. Moreover, a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was applied to compare the single treatment LAI antipsychotic groups in terms of time to discontinuation. Our analysis showed an LAI discontinuation rate at 12 months, corresponding to 28.8%, with olanzapine and aripiprazole having a longer time to discontinuation compared to zuclopenthixol. The results of the present study can help clinicians with their choice of LAI antipsychotic according to patients’ characteristics and in a context of precision medicine. Increasing knowledge about factors affecting discontinuation of LAI antipsychotics can improve the prescribing practices of these compounds. Individualized approaches may ameliorate long-term patients’ treatment adherence, thus preventing the long-term disability caused by psychotic disorders.