Treatment satisfaction with paliperidone extended-release tablets: open-label study in schizophrenia patients dissatisfied with previous antipsychotic medication

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in treatment satisfaction after switching to paliperidone extended-release (ER) in Chinese schizophrenia patients dissatisfied with their previous antipsychotic treatment.MethodsIn this 8-week, open-label, single-arm, multicenter, prospective study, 1,693 patients dissatisfied with previous antipsychotic medication were enrolled and switched to paliperidone ER tablets (3–12 mg/d) based on clinical judgment. The primary efficacy end point was change in Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) score from baseline to week 8. The secondary end points included percentage of patients with MSQ score ≥4, as well as changes in Clinical Global Improvement-Severity (CGI-S) and Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scores.ResultsMSQ scores increased significantly from baseline (mean [standard deviation {SD}]: 2.48 [0.55]) to week 8 (5.47 [0.89], P<0.0001; primary end point, full analysis set). The percentage of patients with MSQ score ≥4 was 95.9% at week 8, indicating that most of the patients were satisfied with their treatment. Significant (P<0.0001) improvements from baseline to week 8 were noted in CGI-S score (2.37 [1.20]) and PSP score (25.5 [15.0]). A total of 174 (10.28%) patients experienced adverse events (AEs). The most common (>10 patients) events were extrapyramidal disorder (n=84, 4.96%), poor quality sleep (n=18, 1.06%) and akathisia (n=13, 0.77%). The majority of AEs were mild to moderate in severity. No deaths occurred.ConclusionTreatment satisfaction improved after switching to paliperidone ER from the previous antipsychotic in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

Effects on Satisfaction and Service Engagement of Paliperidone Palmitate Compared with Oral Paliperidone in Patients with Schizophrenia: An Open Label Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In our trial we found that PP1M had an overall efficacy overlapping with paliperidone ER on clinical symptoms assessed with the CGI-SCH score, psychosocial functioning, measured with the PSP score, and on subjective wellbeing under neuroleptic, assessed with the SWN-K score. This result is in accordance with previous studies on oral paliperidone (12,(25)(26)(27) and long-acting paliperidone (23,24,28,39,40). In our study we did not observe a significant decrease of cognitive symptoms neither with PP1M, nor with paliperidone ER.…”

“…The TSQM (31) is a 14-item psychometrically robust and validated instrument comprising four domains: effectiveness (questions 1-3), side effects (questions 4-8), convenience (questions 9-11), and global satisfaction (questions [12][13][14]. The TSQM domain scores range from 0 to 100.…”

“…In particular, during long-term therapy, subjective perception of general wellness and quality of life clearly influences and maintains adherence to treatment (5). For this reason, an important role has been recently assigned to the concepts of satisfaction, subjective well-being, and quality of life in patients undergoing antipsychotic maintenance treatment (5)(6)(7)(8) Subjective satisfaction is now considered a clinical index of treatment adherence and quality of life in schizophrenia (7,(9)(10)(11)(12). It is also associated with the efficacy of treatment and can be considered an indicator of the treatment success.…”

“…Several studies stated that the main factors that influenced patient satisfaction during an antipsychotic treatment were treatment efficacy, side effects, patient's psychological state, lack of involvement in treatment planning, and convenience (12). In particular, in terms of medication convenience, the long-acting antipsychotics are expected to improve medication convenience with lower administration frequency as opposed to daily administered oral drugs.…”

“…Efficacy of paliperidone extended release (ER) and paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) on clinical symptoms was investigated in several previous studies (12,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). The present open-label, randomized, controlled trial is aimed to evaluate the impact of treatment with once-monthly longacting paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) compared with oral paliperidone extended release (ER) on satisfaction, subjective well-being and service engagement in patients with non-acute symptomatic schizophrenia.…”