Switching antipsychotics effective maintenance strategy: review

Researchers have identified the best pathways to prevent relapse for patients with stable schizophrenia

Switching antipsychotics is as effective as continuing the original treatment for preventing relapse during maintenance therapy in patients with schizophrenia, a potentially practice-changing analysis shows.

Clinical guidelines should be updated to recommend either maintenance strategy over antipsychotic dose reduction or treatment discontinuation when patients are clinically stable, according to international researchers.

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 119 studies, the University of Verona-led team in Italy examined data from some 14,000 adults to compare the efficacy of antipsychotic maintenance strategies in relapse prevention.

About 60% of participants were men and the average age was 39 years.