Korean J Biol Psychiatry.  2024 Oct;31(2):34-39. 10.22857/kjbp.2024.31.2.003.

Clinical Burden of Aripiprazole Once-Monthly in Patients With Schizophrenia Receiving Antipsychotic Polypharmacy

• Moon J
• Yang H
• Jung S
• Jung SB
• Chang JG
• Kim WH
• Lee SM
• Kim J
• Bang M
• Kim MK
• Kim ES
• Shin DW
• Oh KS
• Jeon SW
• Kim J
• Shin YC
• Cho SJ

• KMID: 2561300
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.22857/kjbp.2024.31.2.003

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to assess the clinical burden, a critical determinant of medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia, after the administration of Aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM).
Methods
This study was a retrospective, non-interventional, multicenter, naturalistic observational study conducted through the analysis of participants’ electronic medical records. Study participants were recruited from eight sites. Data were collected at baseline, defined as the time of AOM administration, and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months thereafter. The primary outcome measure was the change in the Clinical Global Impression-Clinical Benefit (CGI-CB) score over 12 months, and the secondary outcome measure was the change in the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score.
Results
The data of 139 participants were analyzed, revealing a statistically significant decrease of 26.8% in CGI-CB scores and 13.4% in CGI-I scores over 12 months. Upon comparison between adjacent visit intervals, significant reductions were observed for both measures between month 3 and month 6.
Conclusions
This study is the first multicenter investigation to simultaneously evaluate the clinical efficacy and tolerability of transitioning to AOM in the context of polypharmacy. The study suggested that AOM may contribute to reducing the clinical burden, thereby improving the quality of life for patients with schizophrenia.

Keyword

Delayed-action preparations; Treatment outcome; Polypharmacy; Antipsychotics; Schizophrenia