Long-term functional improvements in the 2-year treatment of schizophrenia outpatients with olanzapine long-acting injection

Abstract

Haya Ascher-Svanum,1 Diego Novick,2,3 Josep Maria Haro,4 Jordan Bertsch,4 David McDonnell,1 Holland Detke11Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA; 2Eli Lilly and Company, Windlesham, Surrey, UK; 3Departament de Psiquiatria, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain; 4Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en el Área de Salud Mental, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainBackground: Little is known about the long-term changes in the functioning of schizophrenia patients receiving maintenance therapy with olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI), and whether observed changes differ from those seen with oral olanzapine.Methods: This study describes changes in the levels of functioning among outpatients with schizophrenia treated with olanzapine-LAI compared with oral olanzapine over 2 years. This was a secondary analysis of data from a multicenter, randomized, open-label, 2-year study comparing the long-term treatment effectiveness of monthly olanzapine-LAI (405 mg/4 weeks; n=264) with daily oral olanzapine (10 mg/day; n=260). Levels of functioning were assessed with the Heinrichs–Carpenter Quality of Life Scale. Functional status was also classified as “good”, “moderate”, or “poor”, using a previous data-driven approach. Changes in functional levels were assessed with McNemar’s test and comparisons between olanzapine-LAI and oral olanzapine employed the Student’s t-test. Results: Over the 2-year study, the patients treated with olanzapine-LAI improved their level of functioning (per Quality of Life total score) from 64.0–70.8 (P<0.001). Patients on oral ­olanzapine also increased their level of functioning from 62.1–70.1 (P<0.001). At baseline, 19.2% of the olanzapine-LAI-treated patients had a “good” level of functioning, which increased to 27.5% (P<0.05). The figures for oral olanzapine were 14.2% and 24.5%, respectively (P<0.001). Results did not significantly differ between olanzapine-LAI and oral olanzapine. Conclusion: In this 2-year, open-label, randomized study of olanzapine-LAI, outpatients with schizophrenia maintained or improved their favorable baseline level of functioning over time. Results did not significantly differ between olanzapine-LAI and oral olanzapine. Keywords: antipsychotics, functioning, olanzapine long-acting injection, quality of life, schizophrenia