Adherence therapy following acute exacerbation of schizophrenia: A randomised controlled trial in Thailand

Suparpit von Bormann, Deborah Robson, Richard Gray

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Up to 50% of patients with schizophrenia are non-adherent with antipsychotic medication.

AIMS: To establish the efficacy of adherence therapy (AT) compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in improving clinical outcomes in patients with schizophrenia following an acute exacerbation of illness.

METHOD: A parallel-group, single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Fieldwork was conducted in Thailand. Patients received eight weekly sessions of AT in addition to TAU. The primary outcome was improvement in psychopathology (measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)) at 26-week follow-up. Secondary outcomes included patient attitudes towards medication, global functioning and side-effects.

RESULTS: In total, 70 inpatients with schizophrenia were recruited to the trial. At 26-week follow-up, PANSS total scores improved in the AT compared to the TAU group by a mean of -3.94 points (effect size = 0.24). The number needed to treat (NNT) was 5. There was no significant effect on patients' attitudes towards treatment, functioning or medication side-effects. No treatment-related adverse effects were reported.

CONCLUSION: AT improves psychopathology in Asian patients with schizophrenia following an acute exacerbation of illness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-9
Number of pages7
JournalThe International journal of social psychiatry
Volume61
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2015

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Antipsychotic Agents
  • Asian Continental Ancestry Group
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Compliance
  • Schizophrenia
  • Single-Blind Method
  • Thailand
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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