Five Month-Persistent Extrapyramidal Symptoms following a Single Injection of Paliperidone Palmitate: A Case Report

Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are useful in the treatments for schizophrenic patients with poor adherence due to their maintaining feature of therapeutic plasma level without daily administrations. However, their long-lasting property can cause complicated problems such as a long-lasting side effect. We report a patient who experienced LAI-induced extrapyramidal symptoms (EPSs) for 5 months after a single injection. During that period, every trial to ameliorate this condition turned out to be a failure. The 3-month formulation of paliperidone palmitate is now close at hand. We have to be aware of possible long-lasting adverse events and confirm the tolerability to LAI before use.

A Systemic Review and Experts' Consensus for Long-acting Injectable Antipsychotics in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major psychiatric disorder that is easily misdiagnosed. Patient adherence to a treatment regimen is of utmost importance for successful outcomes in BD. Several trials of antipsychotics suggested that depot antipsychotics, including long-acting first- and second-generation agents, are effective in preventing non-adherence, partial adherence, and in reducing relapse in BD. Various long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are available, including fluphenazine decanoate, haloperidol decanoate, olanzapine pamoate, risperidone microspheres, paliperidone palmitate, and aripiprazole monohydrate. Due to the increasing number of BD patients receiving LAI antipsychotics, treatment guidelines have been developed. However, the clinical applicability of LAI antipsychotics remains a global cause for concern, particularly in Asian countries. Expert physicians from Taiwan participated in a consensus meeting, which was held to review key areas based on both current literature and clinical practice. The purpose of this meeting was to generate a practical and implementable set of recommendations for LAI antipsychotic use to treat BD; target patient groups, dosage, administration, and adverse effects were considered. Experts recommended using LAI antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia, rapid cycling BD, BD I, and bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder. LAI antipsychotic use was recommended in BD patients with the following characteristics: multiple episodes and low adherence; seldom yet serious episodes; low adherence potential per a physician's clinical judgment; preference for injectable agents over oral agents; and multiple oral agent users still experiencing residual symptoms.

The Preference Survey for Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics of Community-Dwelling Patients with Schizophrenia and their Caregivers / 대한정신분열병학회지

OBJECTIVE: The prescription rates of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are very low around 1% in Korea. This study was aimed to explore the preference of LAIs in patients with schizophrenia, who are currently living in community, and their caregivers. METHODS: The patients, diagnosed with schizophrenia by DSM-IV TR and were registered in the 31 mental health centers of Gyeonggi province and their caregivers were inquired the knowledge of the LAIs. The questionnaires contained information such as demographic characteristics, history of psychiatric treatment, and so on. RESULTS: About 5,318 were registered in 31 community mental health centers of Gyeonggi province in February 2012. The questionnaires of 614 patients and 365 caregivers were gathered from 20 community mental health centers. The mean ages (+/-SD) of patients and caregivers were 41.9 (+/-10.2) and 62.2 (+/-13.4) years old, respectively. 272 patients (44.6%) had experienced the discontinuation of medications without doctor's consent. 217 patients (35.9%) and 97 caregivers (27.1%) knew about the LAIs. The preference rates for LAIs were 35.2% and 46.8% for the patients and caregivers, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is still huge discrepancy between the preference and the real prescriptions of LAIs in community-dwelling patients and their caregivers, much higher than in those of hospital settings. This study suggests that both patients and caregivers registered in the community mental health centers have a strong commitment to live in the community. The obstacles against the benefits of LAIs need to be resolved.