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[Costs of treatment in patients with schizophrenia switched to amisulpride--one-year follow-up].

OBJECTIVES
In our present research we have studied the costs associated with switching schizophrenia patients to amisulpride as well as the efficacy of amisulpride treatment. We wanted to explore whether the relatively higher costs of amisulpride can be recovered under the current Hungarian economic and financing conditions.


METHODS
From 2002, we analysed clinical improvement with a 6 months follow-up measured by CGI and also compared the costs that were incurred before and after switching in 76 patients suffering from schizophrenia who received amisulpride instead of their previous treatment with typical or atypical antipsychotics. In a second, retrospective phase of the study which lasted for 6 months, we studied the willingness of investigators and patients to continue amisulpride treatment. During this period of treatment both the investigators and the patients were unaware of the fact that the circumstances of treatment would be investigated later; thus, we could determine the number of investigators and patients who decided on the continuation of amisulpride in this phase, and how costs changed later on. In our analysis we followed the cost evaluation methodology introduced earlier by Agnes Rupp.


RESULTS
68 patients were available for the second phase of the study, 65 continued the treatment with amisulpride. Amisulpride has demonstrated cost neutrality in both phases of the study. Higher costs of this medicine have been compensated by an increase in productivity and the resulting cost reduction. Amisulpride treatment was associated with a significant improvement of CGI-measures.


CONCLUSIONS
In an open, non-controlled study, modelling a field study in its second phase, amisulpride has been shown to be an effective antipsychotic which is readily accepted by patients and clinicians and which can be prescribed without increasing costs.