According to the researchers, their findings suggest that certain types of polypharmacy may be associated with fewer rehospitalisations than monotherapies in the treatment of schizophrenia.
Thus is one of two articles in JAMA Psychiatry which explore adjunctive treatments for individuals with schizophrenia using large, observational data-sets.
The other study (n=81,921) found initiating adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia with antidepressant was linked to reduced risk of psychiatric hospitalisation (HR 0.84; 95% CI, 0.80-0.88) and A+E visits (0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.96) vs. initiating alternative psychotropic medications.
An editorial notes that despite efforts to minimise bias, these results should be considered preliminary until confirmed by RCTs. It adds that beyond the well-established benefits of clozapine, prescribers seeking to improve outcomes in patients with schizophrenia have limited evidence from high-quality RCTs to guide add-on strategies; and if the decision is taken to implement add-on treatments after weighing results from both observational studies and RCTs, the limitations of the evidence should be acknowledged and outcomes should be carefully monitored.