Title |
Effectiveness and Cost of Atypical Versus Typical Antipsychotic Treatment in a Nationwide Cohort of Patients With Schizophrenia in Germany
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Published in |
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, October 2012
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DOI | 10.1097/jcp.0b013e318268ddc0 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Tom Stargardt, Marc-Andreas Edel, Andreas Ebert, Reinhard Busse, Georg Juckel, Christian A. Gericke |
Abstract |
This study investigates the effectiveness and cost of typical versus atypical antipsychotics in a nationwide German cohort of patients with schizophrenia. The study sample consisted of patients insured with 4 sickness funds (n = 8,610) who were followed up for 12 months after hospital discharge with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in 2003. Multivariate regression models were fitted to assess the relationship between outcome variables (rehospitalization, bed-days, prescriptions against adverse effects, cost) and medication type, sex, age, and severity. Severity was assessed by prior bed-days due to schizophrenia during 2000 to 2002. Risk of rehospitalization did not differ between groups but within each group severity (P = 0.0003). Males (P = 0.0016) and patients younger than 35 years (P < 0.0001) had a higher risk of rehospitalization. Number of bed-days was lower for treatment with typicals compared with atypicals (P < 0.0001); furthermore, bed-days depended on severity of disease (P < 0.0001). Prescriptions of drugs against extrapyramidal symptoms, anxiety, and agitation were higher for patients treated with typicals (P < 0.0001 for each). Mean predicted treatment cost per year was € 6442 for atypicals versus € 4443 for typicals (P < 0.0001). This study does not support unconditional superiority of atypicals over typicals, neither in terms of effectiveness nor in terms of cost. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Spain | 1 | 2% |
Colombia | 1 | 2% |
Germany | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 46 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 9 | 18% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 6 | 12% |
Student > Bachelor | 6 | 12% |
Student > Master | 6 | 12% |
Student > Postgraduate | 5 | 10% |
Other | 11 | 22% |
Unknown | 6 | 12% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 25 | 51% |
Psychology | 5 | 10% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 2 | 4% |
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 2 | 4% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 2 | 4% |
Other | 6 | 12% |
Unknown | 7 | 14% |