Objective
The
present study was carried out to investigate and compare the three methods for
calculating total antipsychotic dose among outpatients with schizophrenia
attending primary psychiatric health care centers. The three methods were:
Defined Daily Doses (DDDs), chlorpromazine equivalents (CPZeq) and percentages
of the British National Formulary (BNF) maximum.
Methodology
Antipsychotic drug dosing data for 250 patients with schizophrenia were
investigated by calculating Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Factors
associated with antipsychotic dose, expressed as DDDs, CPZeq and percentages of
the BNF maximum recommended daily dose, were investigated by means of linear
regression analysis.
Results
Spearman’s correlation showed that there is a significant relationship
between all pairs of the three dosing methods. In all three methods, coherence
was strongest when dealing with first generation antipsychotics (FGA). Linear
regression analyses showed a high degree of coherence between antipsychotic
doses expressed as DDDs, CPZeq and percentages of the BNF maximum recommended
daily dose.
Conclusion
All three tested methods are reliable and coherent for calculating
antipsychotic dosing.
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