An examination of factors affecting persistence with initial antipsychotic treatment in patients with schizophrenia.

ABSTRACTObjectives: During a schizophrenia treatment episode, persistence with the initial antipsychotic may indicate optimal pharmacotherapy and be a precursor to longer-term effectiveness and other positive outcomes. The objective of this study was to examine the ability of selected variables to predict antipsychotic persistence among patients receiving olanzapine or risperidone as initial treatment.Research design and methods: Data for this analysis, which was not defined in the original study protocol, came from a naturalistic, randomized, open-label trial compar­ing costs and effectiveness of first-line antipsychotic treatment options in schizophrenia. Predictor variables were as follows: (1) patients’ initial antipsychotic (olanz­apine [n = 222] or risperidone [n = 218]); (2) current (within 30 days) comorbid diagnosis of substance abuse; and (3) nine self-report items from the Rating of Medica­tion Influence (ROMI) scale, including an item assessing patients’ perceptions of the role of their therap...