Vortioxetine as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Background

The evidence for safe and effective interventions to treat the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia is lacking.

Objectives

Vortioxetine is a novel antidepressant that has been used as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of psychosis; however, its effectiveness in clinical practice is relatively unknown. In this study, we aimed to determine the potential clinical effectiveness and safety and tolerability of vortioxetine in psychosis.

Design

This is a non-interventional, retrospective study on the add-on use of vortioxetine in a group of people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in a large UK NHS mental health trust.

Methods

Clinical effectiveness of vortioxetine was retrospectively assessed through the Clinical Global Impression - Severity (CGI-S) scale at 3 months. Safety and tolerability were evaluated through treatment discontinuation rates at 3, 6, and 12 months, and clinical reasons were evaluated at the primary endpoint of 3 months.

Results

Data were available for 40 subjects with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder-prescribed vortioxetine treatment; 30 (75%) remained on treatment at 3 months. At CGI-S assessment, 15 of the 35 evaluated subjects reported at least a 1-point improvement, from 5 at baseline to 4 after 3 months of treatment. Twenty-six (65%) remained on treatment at 1-year follow-up. The main reasons for those discontinuing treatment were inadequate response (10%) and manic switch (7.5%), while one subject refused treatment. Tolerability to treatment was good, and 36 subjects (90%) reported no adverse events specific to vortioxetine treatment.

Conclusion

Schizophrenia is a complex illness, and there is insufficient treatment response in many individuals. A significant proportion of whom may require adjunctive treatments depending on the nature of the residual symptoms. Vortioxetine could be a potentially safe and effective option in such people, but further controlled studies are required.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s), 2022.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.