Plain Language Summary of Publication: What experts agree about using long-acting injectable antipsychotic medicine for people early in their experience of schizophrenia.

Abstract

What is this summary about? Antipsychotics are a type of medicine used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. These medicines come in various forms, including long-acting injectables (LAIs), which are taken every few weeks or months. There may be differences amongst doctors in how they approach treatment of people who are in the early phase of schizophrenia and experiencing symptoms for the first time. For instance, there may be differences in how the doctors prescribe antipsychotics, or in how they judge that their patient has recovered enough to function in their daily lives (also known as functional recovery). This summary is based on two articles that reported results from a special process called the Delphi technique. This aimed to gain agreement from a group of experts on how LAI antipsychotics should be used for people living with early phase schizophrenia. Another aim was to gain agreement on what functional recovery looks like and how it can be assessed. Based on expert agreement obtained through the Delphi technique, people with early schizophrenia could benefit from LAI antipsychotics. It was also agreed that LAIs may help people living with early phase schizophrenia reach functional recovery. Functional recovery can be represented by key aspects including depression, aggressive behavior, and social interactions. In the future, it would be useful to develop a survey or questionnaire that could assess all these key aspects.