Objective: To perform a retrospective survey of discharge medications at a tertiary care psychiatric facility in an attempt to gain insight into, and perhaps an understanding of, the most recent pattern of antipsychotic utilization in patients with a diagnosis not restricted to schizophrenia.
Methods: This is a retrospective survey that used the Department of Pharmacy's computer database to obtain relevant discharge information on all non-geriatric patients discharged from Riverview Hospital between 1 January and 31 December 2000. The records of 372 patients met the inclusion criteria and formed the database for the survey.
Results: The results of this survey revealed a relatively high prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy (the use of two antipsychotics). Perhaps surprisingly, the highest rate of antipsychotic polypharmacy was found in individuals diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (49.3%), followed by schizophrenia (44.7%), bipolar disorder (29.9%), and psychosis not otherwise specified (22.5%).
Conclusion: Although antipsychotic polypharmacy is not a new phenomenon in schizophrenia, this study is the first to document its employment among other diagnoses.