Hospitalisation and resource utilisation in patients with schizophrenia following initiation of risperidone long-acting therapy in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System

AbstractObjective: To examine hospitalisation rates and resource utilisation following initiation of risperidone long-acting therapy (RLAT) among US veterans with schizophrenia.Methods: Encounter data were analysed from the Ohio Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. Adult patients (schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) with ≥1 medical or hospital visits with a diagnosis code of 295.xx, continuous enrolment from January 2003 through January 2006, and ≥4 injections of RLAT were selected. Analyses compared psychiatric-related resource utilisation pre- and post-exposure to RLAT; each patient served as his/her own control. The pre-exposure and post-exposure periods defined were equal in duration (e.g., a 6-month post-exposure period was matched with a 6-month pre-exposure period). Descriptive and comparative analyses (paired t tests, McNemar's test) were performed.Results: Patients (n=106) were 51.9 years old (±10.2), male (93%), white (73%) and received on average 14 RLAT doses (±9.7; range, 4–47 inje...