Hospital Admissions Halved And Cost Savings Made When People With Schizophrenia Switched To Risperdal (Reg) Consta (TM)

Main Category: Schizophrenia
Article Date: 23 Sep 2006 - 19:00 PDT

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New data presented today at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) annual meeting, showed that a financial saving of £1528 could be made per patient per year as a result of prescribing Risperdal® Consta™ (risperidone long-acting injection).(1)

In addition the data showed that patients who commenced Risperdal® Consta™ (risperidone long-acting injection) either in the community or during a hospital stay experienced half the number of admissions (65 vs. 33) and inpatient days (4550 vs. 2188) during treatment with Risperdal® Consta™ (risperidone long-acting injection) in comparison to the same time period with their previous treatment.(1)

Lead author of the study, Dr Peter Haddad from the Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust said, "For people with schizophrenia taking treatment long-term is important for controlling symptoms and preventing relapse which may lead to a hospital admission. The data shows that treatment with Risperdal® Consta™ not only benefited patients but there was also a cost benefit in terms of reduced hospital stays."

The new data also highlighted that nearly two thirds (58%) of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were continuing Risperdal® Consta™ (risperidone long-acting injection) 12 months after initiation.(1)

The study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of Long Acting Injections in the treatment of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and the data was produced from a retrospective case note audit of all patients prescribed Risperdal® Consta™ (risperidone long-acting injection) over 34 months in a general adult psychiatric service in Salford; 92 patients in total were prescribed RLAI during the study period.(1)

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References

1. Haddad. P, Three Years of Experience of Risperidone Long-Acting Injection in a UK Psychiatric Service Including a Mirror Image Analysis, Poster presented at the 19th ECNP annual meeting, 2006

NB: The study, data analysis and writing of the poster was independent and no support from the manufacturers of risperidone long-acting injection was received.

Janssen-Cilag Ltd (http://www.janssen-cilag.co.uk), manufacturer of Risperdal® Consta™ (http://www.risperdal-consta.co.uk), Risperdal™ (risperidone) and Risperdal® Quicklet™ is part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, a leading research-based pharmaceutical company, with more than 110,000 employees worldwide and establishments in approximately 50 countries.

Symptoms of schizophrenia include hearing voices, hallucinations and delusions, apathy, social withdrawal and a lack of emotional expression. For further information on schizophrenia, please log on to www.oneinonehundred.co.uk, or call the 1 in 100 helpline on 0800 587 1153 to request a free information pack.

Further study information:

- The Risperdal® Consta™ treatment period was defined as starting (i) on discharge on Risperdal® Consta™ following inpatient initiation or (ii) the date of the first Risperdal® Consta™ if initiation was in the community.

- The end of the treatment was defined as (i) date of discharge from hospital if Risperdal® Consta™ was stopped during an admission or (ii) date of last Risperdal® Consta™ if treatment was stopped in the community.

- The Risperdal® Consta™ treatment period was compared to an equal length period immediately preceding it (previous treatment period).

- Date regarding the characteristics of Risperdal® Consta™ treated patients was obtained from the clinical notes and compared to a control group of patients receiving oral antipsychotic medication.

For further information please visit:
Janssen-Cilag Ltd
And
http://www.risperdal-consta.co.uk

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