Evaluation of the effectiveness and acceptability of the long-acting oral antipsychotic penfluridol: Illustrative case series.

Aim: In this study, we sought to determine clinical outcomes at 1 year for patients prescribed penfluridol in an inner London National Health Service Trust. Using noninterventional data, we describe the use, effectiveness and safety of this treatment modality.

Results: We retrospectively followed up 17 patients prescribed penfluridol as part of routine clinical practice. All patients took penfluridol once weekly. Of these patients, 12 (70.6%) were considered treatment resistant. The average duration of illness for this cohort was 10 years (SD = 6.7). At 1 year, nine (53%) patients remained on treatment. Median survival time was not reached at 1-year follow-up; mean time on penfluridol was 251 days (95% confidence interval (CI), 184-318). The mean number of admissions to hospital in the year following penfluridol initiation was 0.6 compared with 0.8, 1 year before initiation (p = 0.465). The median number of bed days 1 year before penfluridol initiation was 24, whereas in the year following penfluridol initiation, it was 0 (p = 0.514).

Clinical implications: Although penfluridol is unlicensed in the United Kingdom, limited data suggest that this long-acting oral therapy has the potential to be used safely and effectively for the treatment of psychotic disorders. However, more data are required to establish the place of penfluridol and other potential long-acting oral antipsychotic formulations in the treatment of psychotic disorders.