Long-acting injectable antipsychotics in the treatment of schizoaffective disorder: A retrospective mirror image study for hospitalizations and treatment costs

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of long-acting injectable antipsychotic (LAI) use on psychiatric hospitalizations and treatment costs in schizoaffective disorder. In our retrospective, naturalistic mirror image study, we evaluated the medical records of patients attending to the community mental health centers affiliated to our hospital with the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder during last 5 years. Comparisons were made for 43 patients using LAI treatment regarding hospitalizations and treatment costs for the one-year period before and after initiation of LAI with additional comparisons according to the class of LAI. The number and length of hospitalizations were lower after LAI treatment and the cost of drug treatment was higher but the cost of hospitalization was lower compared to the previous year. The cost of medication and total treatment costs in the first year of treatment was higher for patients using second-generation LAI than patients using first-generation LAI. After the initiation of LAI treatment, for the first-generation LAI group; there was no significant difference between the medication costs, but hospitalization costs and total treatment costs were lower and for the second-generation LAI group; the cost of medications was higher, the cost of hospitalizations was lower and the total cost of treatment was higher. Although the overall treatment cost rises due to the high prices of second-generation LAIs relative to hospitalization costs in our country, the reduction in hospitalizations associated with both groups of LAI in schizoaffective disorder is an outstanding outcome that is important for both patients and the community.