Efficacy of oral versus long-acting antipsychotic treatment in patients with early-phase schizophrenia in Europe and Israel: a large-scale, open-label, randomised trial (EULAST)

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with periods of remission and relapse. As discontinuation of antipsychotic medication is the most important reason for relapse, long-term maintenance treatment is key. Whether intramuscular long-acting (depot) antipsychotics are more efficacious than oral medication in preventing medication discontinuation is still unresolved. We aimed to compare time to all-cause discontinuation in patients randomly allocated to long-acting injectable (LAI) versus oral medication.