Use of ziprasidone in patients with schizophrenia in four European countries.

PURPOSE: To characterise patients with schizophrenia from four European countries treated with ziprasidone, and to compare these with patients treated with other second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) included in this survey.

METHOD: A randomly selected, representative sample of psychiatrists (N = 744), from Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, collected data on the five last patients with schizophrenia they had seen in consultation (N = 3996), including up to two patients treated with ziprasidone (N = 1096).

RESULTS

Ziprasidone was most frequently prescribed to patients requiring a switch from another antipsychotic. Compared to other surveyed SGAs, ziprasisone was more likely to be prescribed to women than to men (OR: 1.52), to patients with mild disease than to those with severe disease (OR: 1.94) and to outpatients than to inpatients (1.30). The most frequently cited reasons for prescribing ziprasidone were good tolerability and efficacy against positive and negative symptoms. Compared to other SGAs included in this survey, it was more likely to be prescribed due to the low risk of weight gain, metabolic syndrome and extrapyramidal symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Patients treated by ziprasidone more frequently belong to subgroups composed of more autonomous patients and those with mild to moderate disease severity.