Psychiatria pre prax 2/2022

Clinical management of a patient with schizophrenia in current psychiatric practice

Today΄s treatment requirements in terms of the best possible ratio of treatment effectiveness and safety are, in essence, a standard that is increasingly not only required but also applied in practice. Therefore, unifying as much medical evidence-based (EBM) procedures as possible in practice is a major challenge. We have at our disposal not only several foreign recommendations for the treatment of mental disorders, but for more than three years also Slovak recommendations called Standard Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures. How are the recommendations for the treatment of schizophrenia applied in practice? Are they used and respected by our experts? What is the situation regarding the consideration of the ratio of effectiveness and safety already in the acute phase of treatment of psychotic disorders? We can find answers to these and other questions in a quantitative-qualitative cross-sectional study based on the evaluation of online structured questionnaires from more than 140 Slovak psychiatrists. We will look for answers to the questions that are the most important factors when choosing a particular antipsychotic in the acute phase of treatment, such as standard monitoring - frequency of examinations in the maintenance and stabilization phase, what examinations are indicated to assess treatment side effects and what are the reasons for antipsychotic replacement. Ultimately, we will try to answer the question: To what extent are the recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic relevant for clinical practice?

Keywords: schizophrenia, management, recommendations, treatment, antipsychotics