Clozapine, LAIs Found Effective in Patients With First-Episode Psychosis and Cannabis Use Disorder

Individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and cannabis use disorder who were prescribed any antipsychotic were significantly less likely to be hospitalized for psychosis than similar patients who did not receive an antipsychotic, according to areport inSchizophrenia Bulletin.Clozapine and long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations of risperidone, aripiprazole, and paliperidone were the most effective medications at preventing relapse and hospitalization due to psychosis. Clozapine was also most effective at preventing hospitalization due to substance use.Alexander Denissoff, M.D., of the University of Turku, Finland, and colleagues noted that cannabis use is common among FEP patients. Further, continued cannabis use after a first episode of psychosis has been associated with more severe symptoms, nonadherence to antipsychotic treatment, and an increased frequency of relapse.For that reason, “improving outcomes of FEP patients with dual disorders is of paramount importance as relapse after the index psychotic episode is associated with adverse clinical outcomes,” they wrote.Denissoff and colleagues used Swedish national registries to track the outcomes of 1,820 individuals diagnosed with FEP and co-occurring cannabis use disorder between 2006 and 2021. The main outcome was hospitalization due to relapse of psychosis, though the researchers also looked for hospitalizations due to any substance use disorder.A total of 1,111 of the 1,820 patients were hospitalized due to ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: cannabis Finland first-episode psychosis health registries hospitalization relapse schizophrenia substance use disorder Source Type: research