Maintenance Doses of Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia: Experience of the HMIMV Psychiatry Department

Introduction: Various research studies have looked at average maintenance doses in the treatment of schizophrenia, with the observation that these doses are likely to be influenced by multiple variables. The objective of this study is to examine the maintenance doses of antipsychotics in a sample of patients with schizophrenia who are stabilized and who are followed in our department. We will also seek to evaluate the relative impact of the various variables mentioned in the literature on these doses. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with schizophrenia who had been on stable treatment for at least three months, during the period from November 1, 2021 to November 1, 2022. Data were collected from medical records, and in total, 37 patients were included in the study. Results: The average dose of antipsychotics prescribed to the patients in our sample during their last hospitalizations was 509.45 mg. Maintenance doses of antipsychotics in our sample had a mean of 340.54 mg CPZ eq. The average maintenance dose in patients with a combination of antipsychotics was 384.6 mg CPZ eq, and that in patients with a single antipsychotic was 236.36 mg CPZ eq. 29.7% of our patients had only one antipsychotic prescribed. Conclusion: The aim of this work was to try to study as many factors as possible identified in the literature likely to influence the maintenance dosages of neuroleptics in schizophrenia and to compare them to the experience of our psychiatry department.