Two-Year Rehospitalization Rates of First Episode Schizophrenic Inpatients Discharged on Antipsychotic Medication : A Preliminary Study

Woo, Young Sup; Yook, Dong Hyun; Seo, Ho Jun; Chae, Jeong Ho; Jun, Tae Youn; Bahk, Won Myong

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
We compared the rehospitalization rate of first-episode schizophrenic inpatients who were discharged from a university hospital while being treated with risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, or the conventional antipsychotic haloperidol. We also assessed other possible predictors of rehospitalization.
METHODS
We monitored the rehospitalization status of all first-episode schizophrenic inpatients who were discharged from a university hospital between 1 January 2001 and 30 June 2003 while they were taking risperidone (n=16), olanzapine (n=26), quetiapine (n=9), or haloperidol (n=10). Rehospitalizations were tracked over a 2-year period using the Kaplan-Meier method. Risk factors associated with rehospitalization were examined using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.
RESULTS
The rehospitalization rates estimated using the Kaplan-Meier formula for patients taking haloperidol (60.0%) did not differ significantly from the rates for patients treated with risperidone (37.5%), olanzapine (34.6%), or quetiapine (33.3%) during the 24-month follow-up period. The length of untreated illness before drug treatment predicted rehospitalization.
CONCLUSION
The rehospitalization rates of first-episode schizophrenic inpatients taking risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, or haloperidol do not differ. However, the small number of patients who participated in this study made it difficult to establish significance.