Comprehensive psychiatry
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Nov 2014
Association of symptom severity, insight and increased pharmacologic side effects in acutely hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.
Many studies have shown that more severe symptoms and poorer insight are associated with poor treatment compliance in schizophrenia while severe symptoms may result in higher medication dosages. Since pharmacologic side effects may accompany greater medication compliance and higher medication dosage, the relationship between symptoms, insight and side effects deserves study. ⋯ More severe symptoms and greater insight among schizophrenic inpatients were both significantly if modestly associated with more severe pharmacologic side effects, the former presumably because of the need for higher doses of medication and the latter because of greater medication compliance. In addition, patients with both more severe symptoms and greater insight were even more prone to pharmacologic side effects than others presumably reflecting higher doses and higher compliance. Clinicians treating highly symptomatic but insightful patients, i.e. those most likely to need and to adhere to prescribed medications, may need to be especially vigilant about side effects.