[Medico-economic assessment of neuroleptics in schizophrenia. Amisulpride versus haloperidol]

Autor: E, Souêtre, P, Martin, J P, Lecanu, L, Alexandre, H, Lozet, J M, Gauthier, C, Camus
Jazyk: francouzština
Rok vydání: 1992
Předmět:
Zdroj: L'Encephale. 18(3)
ISSN: 0013-7006
Popis: The aim of this study is to assess the economic impact of neuroleptic strategies in the long-term treatment of schizophrenic patients. In this respect a new neuroleptic strategy (amisulpride) was compared to a reference drug (haloperidol) using a cost minimization method. Clinical, demographic and economic (direct medical costs) data were obtained retrospectively from patients' charts. Patients (n = 160) were randomly selected according to diagnosis (schizophrenia, DSM III-R), treatment (outpatient, amisulpride or haloperidol) and follow up period (at least 6 months). The health insurance point of view was selected for the economic analysis. We found a significant reduction of the annual number of days of relapse when patients were treated with amisulpride compared to haloperidol. This reduction was associated with a significant reduction of direct costs mainly related to shorter length of hospitalization. This result was only partly explained by demographic and clinical variables such as the severity of the disease. The differences remained significant when populations were matched. This finding illustrates the validity of the concept of efficiency in psychiatry.
Databáze: OpenAIRE