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MDLinx  Psychiatry 5 minutes to stay current Your Article Summary Combination treatment with risperidone long-acting injection and psychoeducational approaches for preventing relapse in schizophrenia Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 11/05/13 Zhao Y, et al. – A recent meta–analysis showed that long–acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics were not superior to oral antipsychotics for preventing relapse in patients with schizophrenia. The authors designed a treatment strategy combining risperidone LAI and COMPASS (COMprehensive Psycho–educational Approach and Scheme Set), an original psychoeducational program supporting treatment with risperidone LAI and evaluating subjective treatment satisfaction, transition of symptoms, and effectiveness in preventing symptomatic relapse. The aim of this study was to examine whether addition of COMPASS to risperidone LAI was more effective in preventing relapse in schizophrenia patients than risperidone LAI alone, with the latter group consisting of patients enrolled in a Phase III trial of risperidone LAI in Japan. The lower relapse rate observed in patients treated with COMPASS plus risperidone LAI than in patients treated with risperidone LAI alone suggests that COMPASS may have benefits in the treatment of schizophrenia, indicating a need for randomized, controlled trials in larger numbers of patients. Methods Patients were followed up for 6 months, with COMPASS continuously implemented from the transition to the observation phase. The primary efficacy measurements were relapse rate (rates of rehospitalization and discontinuation due to inefficacy). Secondary efficacy measurements were the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores. Results Of the 96 patients originally enrolled, 19 (19.8%) were discontinued from all causes. During the 6-month study period, ten of the 96 patients (10.4%) relapsed, compared with a 12.2% relapse rate in patients enrolled in a Phase III trial of risperidone LAI in Japan. Patients showed significant improvements in BPRS total scores (P=0.0031), BPRS positive (P=0.0451), BRPS negative (P<0.0001), and general subscale scores (P=0.0031), and GAF (P<0.0001) from baseline to 6months. Receive more summaries like this by joining MDLinx. We provide free daily digests of top journal articles in your field. >> Click here to choose your specialties. Other articles in Psychiatry >> Click here to see the complete list Efficacy of paracetamol for acute low-back pain: a double-blind, randomised controlled trial The Lancet, 07/25/14 Comparison of the treatment implications of American Society of Hypertension and International Society of Hypertension 2013 and Eighth Joint National Committee Guidelines: An analysis of national health and nutrition examination survey Hypertension, 07/25/14 Treatment discontinuations with new oral agents for long-term anticoagulation: insights from a meta-analysis of 18 randomized trials including 101,801 patients Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 07/22/14