Source: Pharmacologic Advances in the Treatment of Schizophrenia Post-CATIE: An Expert Interview With John M. Kane, MD. Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health. 2006;11(1) ©2006 Posted 06/02/2006
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The Findings
According to Dr. Kane, the most significant finding from CATIE1 is the large proportion of patients who discontinued first antipsychotic medication prescribed them2 and the consequent problems with noncompliance.
He goes on to note that the message from CATIE (and similar research) is that “we have an enormous unmet need in treating patients with schizophrenia,” an important causative factor of which is our current inability to effectively manage nonadherence.
Commentary
Dr. Kane’s thoughtful analysis of the inadequacy of the current methodology of antipsychotic medication treatment, especially vis-à-vis noncompliance, is discouraging.
On the other hand, his focus on the need for healthcare professionals to have an understanding of patient non-adherence and his careful resistance to advocating solutions without clinical evidence of their potency is heartening to the extent that it serves as an impetus and guide to future research.
__________- Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Interventions Effectiveness↩
- It should be noted, however, that later in the interview, Dr. Kane points out that discontinuation in this context did not mean discontinuation of treatment altogether, and in many case, the subjects who discontinued merely went on to Phase 2 while in the real world discontinuation often means dropping out of treatment altogether.↩