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Poor adherence to antipsychotic medications is thought to frequently cause poor outcomes in schizophrenia. Whether use of injectable depot antipsychotics improves outcomes, especially for unstable or nonadherent patients, has never been empirically evaluated. In a 14-site, 2-year, partly manufacturer-supported, randomized, controlled study, researchers compared the effectiveness of long-acting, biweekly injectable risperidone (25–50 mg) and equivalently dosed oral antipsychotics in 369 Veterans Affairs (VA) patients with unstable schizophrenia (mean age, 50; 95% hospitalized currently or within the previous 2 years, 64% with poor medication adherence, 37% with substance use problems).
Both treatment groups had similarly declining follow-up r…