Loading...
Maintenance antipsychotic treatment prevents relapse in schizophrenia. This meta-analysis of 65 maintenance antipsychotic trials in 6493 schizophrenic patients fleshes out that phenomenon. Researchers examined the size of effects and whether illness characteristics or drug type moderates outcome; delineated in detail the type and extent of outcomes; and measured benefits against medication risks.
Relapse prevention effects were large (number needed to treat: relapse, 3; hospitalization, 5) and did not appear to decrease with time. However, 36% of placebo-treated patients did not relapse within 7 to 12 months (no relapse regardless of time, 43%), and only 26% of relapsing placebo recipients required hospitalization. Treatment effects were sig…