The recovery rate for individuals prescribed antipsychotics is varied and it has been estimated that only 30% of patients receiving antipsychotic treatments respond and enter full remission (H. Steeds et al, 2015).
Providing effective treatment during the first episode of schizophrenia is important as it has been shown to improve long-term outcomes: patients at this stage respond better to antipsychotics, require lower doses and have a better overall prognosis than chronic patients (S. Leucht et al, 2015).
Switching antipsychotics is a strategy often used by clinicians; however, questions remain regarding the effectiveness of this option, including determining which drugs are most suitable and how long to wait before switching occurs.
This paper tackles the question of whether patients experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia, who fail to respond to the antipsychotic prescribed, will benefit from switching to another drug. Divided into two parts, the paper begins with a review of current studies investigating the effectiveness of switching antipsychotics, and is followed by an outline of the methods selected for the Optimization of Treatment and Management of Schizophrenia in Europe (OPTiMiSE) trial.