Observational studyBMC psychiatry2021
Long-acting injectable antipsychotic (LAI) prescribing trends during COVID-19 restrictions in Canada: a retrospective observational study.
Observational study in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Utilization of mental health services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - a systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Prolonged Tardive Dyskinesia Induced by Long-Acting Paliperidone Palmitate in Schizophrenia: A Case Report.The American journal of case reports · 2026Article
- Real-world examination of the rates of long-acting injectable attrition in a cohort of early psychosis patients after discharge from an early intervention service for psychosis.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Treatment Patterns and Outcomes from OASIS: A Prospective Observational Study of Long-Acting Injectables in Schizophrenia.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Article
- Long-acting injectable antipsychotics as maintenance therapy for schizophrenia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A micro-narrative review.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2024Review
- Depression and stress levels in patients with different psychiatric disorders during concurrent early-phase COVID-19 pandemic and earthquake in Croatia.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Use of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics in a Clinical Sample of Community-Dwelling Patients with Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders in Rural Greece.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Long-acting Injectable Antipsychotics during the COVID-19 pandemic in schizophrenia: An observational study in a real-world clinical setting.Psychiatry research · 2022Observational
- Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics (LAIs) Prescribing Trends during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lifestyles and Levels of Anxiety and Depression of Patients with Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Observational Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Results from PSIPROSPER: A multicenter retrospective study to analyze the impact of treatment with paliperidone palmitate 1-month on clinical outcomes and hospital resource utilization in adult patients with schizophrenia in Portugal.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Canadian Healthcare System and Individuals with Severe Mental Disorders During Coronavirus Disease 2019: Challenges and Unmet Needs.Schizophrenia bulletin open · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on how mental health services are delivered to patients throughout Canada. The reduction of in-person healthcare services have created unique challenges for individuals with psychotic disorders that require regular clinic visits to administer and monitor long-acting injectable antipsychotic medications.
methodsTo better understand how LAI usage was impacted, national and provincial patient-level longitudinal prescribing data from Canadian retail pharmacies were used to examine LAI prescribing practices during the pandemic. Prescribing data on new starts of medication, discontinuations of medications, switches between medications, antipsychotic name, concomitant medications, payer plan, gender and age were collected from January 2019 to December 2020 for individuals ≥18-years of age, and examined by month, as well as by distinct pandemic related epochs characterized by varying degrees of public awareness, incidence of COVID-19 infections and public health restrictions.
resultsNational, and provincial level data revealed that rates of LAI prescribing including new starts, discontinuations and switches between LAI products remained highly stable (i.e., no statistically significant differences) throughout the study period.
conclusionsEqual numbers of LAI new starts and discontinuations prior to and during the pandemic suggests prescribing of LAI antipsychotics, for those already in care, continued unchanged throughout the pandemic. The observed consistency of LAI prescribing contrasts with other areas of healthcare, such as cardiovascular and diabetes care, which experienced decreases in medication prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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