Community-based rehabilitation of schizophrenia

Abstract

Flupenthixol and fluphenazine decanoate were compared in 58 schizophrenic outpatients in a 1-year controlled study that included a 6-month psychosocial programme. Both drugs significantly reduced symptoms and signs, but there were no benefits with regard to social adjustment. In the flupenthixol group there were less extrapyramidal side effects at the end of the study. Otherwise, no differences were found between the two drug treatments, with or without the addition of psychosocial rehabilitation. The community-based psychosocial programme caused no adverse patient reactions but did not yield added benefits with regard to symptom reduction or increased social adjustment. The randomization process proved to have allocated significantly more psychotic patients to the psychosocial programme, however, and these refractory schizophrenics are probably in need of a more structured rehabilitation programme in an institutional setting.