Clinical and social determinants of use of depot antipsychotics for patients with schizophrenia in Hong Kong.

Objective: To date, few studies have investigated depot antipsychotic medication in Chinese patients with schizophrenia in general and outpatients with schizophrenia in particular. This study examined the frequency, and sociodemographic and clinical correlates of depot anti-psychotic medication in Hong Kong.Patients and Methods: 267 clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia were randomly selected and interviewed in Hong Kong using standardised assessment instruments. Data on prescription patterns of all psychotropic drugs were collected at the time of the diagnostic interview. Results: Depot antipsychotic treatment was employed in 36.7% (n = 98) of the sample. Patients on depot antipsychotics were older, had longer duration of illness and more psychiatric hospitalisations and better scores on the social domain of quality of life. They were more likely to receive antipsychotic polypharmacy and anticholinergic drugs and to be on priority follow-up status and on conditional discharge, and less likely to receive clozapine. In multiple logistic regression analysis, the use of antipsychotic polyphannacy, history of suicide attempts, educational level and being on conditional discharge all significantly predicted the use of depot antipsychotics.Conclusion: The use of depot antipsychotics appeared to be independent of the severity of psychotic symptoms. It is a cause for concern that depot antipsychotic therapy was associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy because the very advantage of depot antipsychotics is lost in clinically stable outpatients. It seems that clinicians are more reluctant to prescribe depot anti-psychotic for younger patients than older ones. Regular surveys of prescribing practices with the aim of more rational use of depot antipsychotics are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]