Prescription attitudes towards the use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics in a first-episode psychosis.

Introduction: The prevalence of non-adherence to antipsychotic medication is high, with values above 50%. Psychiatrists have often been shown to underestimate low adherence, and this finding, along with the belief that injectables should be reserved for nonadherent patients, may contribute to underutilization of Longacting injectable antipsychotics (LAI) in the first-episode psychosis (FEP). On the other hand, the current guidelines are not unanimous regarding the use of LAI prescription in FEP. Objectives: Our study aims to assess the prescription attitudes towards the use of LAI antipsychotics in FEP, taking into account several clinical and sociodemographic variables. The study will also evaluate any significant discrepancies between psychiatry trainees and psychiatry consultants. Methods: For this purpose, we did a literature review on this topic, and we created an anonymous questionnaire. In the first part of this questionnaire, data about psychiatric training, years of clinical practice and the average number of patients with FEP treated per year were collected. In the second part, several statements associated to negative and positive attitude towards LAI were presented in a Likert scale. In the third part, many clinical and sociodemographic variables known to influence the prescription of LAI in "non FEP" patients were also assessed. We distributed the questionnaire in a Psychiatric hospital(Hospital Magalhães Lemos, Porto, Portugal), where are currently working eighteen psychiatrist consultants and twenty-five psychiatry trainees. Results: Data are currently being processed and analyzed. Conclusions: Despite good clinical evidence, LAI are only seldom prescribed to patients with FEP. This study intends to further clarify the reasons for this scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]