Relapse rates in an early psychosis treatment service

• Published in: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Vol. 115; no. 2; pp. 126 - 131
• Main Authors: Addington, D., Jean Addington, M. D., Patten, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2007; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical outcomes; Cohort Studies; Demography; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Early Diagnosis; early psychosis treatment services; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Medical sciences; Medical treatment; Mental Health Services - utilization; Middle Aged; Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data; Prevalence; Program Development - statistics & numerical data; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Psychosis; Psychotic Disorders - diagnosis; Psychotic Disorders - epidemiology; Psychotic Disorders - therapy; Recurrence; relapse; schizoaffective disorder; Schizophrenia; treatment outcome; Schizoaffective psychosis; Relapse; Treatment; Schizophrenia; Early; treatment outcome; early psychosis treatment services; schizoaffective disorder
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447; 0065-1591
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2006.00879.x

Objective:  To examine the relapse rate achievable in a real‐life early psychosis treatment service. Method:  A 2‐year longitudinal cohort study of consecutive admissions to an early psychosis programme which served the entire population in a catchment area. The primary outcome measure was relapse. Results:  One hundred and forty‐eight consecutive consenting admissions were recruited, 124 (83.8%) of whom were followed for 1 year and 116 (78.4%) for 2 years. Relapse was assessed by clinicians using structured criteria. The 2‐year relapse rate among subjects with complete data collection was 34/95 (35.7%, 95% CI 26.2–46.3). A Kaplan–Meier life table censoring subjects lost to follow‐up yielded a comparable estimate of the proportion not relapsing: 68% (95% CI 58–76%). Conclusion:  These estimates compare favourably with a published range of 2‐year relapse from 55% to 70% in the older literature and are comparable with the results in recent clinical trials.