Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Physician Assistant Studies
Committee Chair
LaDonna Clark
Abstract
Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder that causes significant functional impairment and decreased quality of life for those who suffer from it. The purpose of this review is to compare the use of long-acting injectable (LAIs) antipsychotics with oral antipsychotic medications and to evaluate which treatment modality provides more favorable outcomes in terms of symptom control, adherence, and relapse prevention.
Methods: PubMed was searched to find articles examining the efficacy of both long-acting injectables and oral antipsychotics, and why long-acting injectables are becoming the preferred method of delivering treatment to patients suffering from schizophrenia. Four articles were selected for this review.
Results: In two systematic reviews, it was found that LAIs have a better overall outcome on patient symptoms, hospitalization rate, and treatment adherence when compared to its oral-formulation counterparts. One systematic review concluded that while LAIs and oral antipsychotics are similar in the treatment of schizophrenia symptoms, LAIs were more efficacious in treating symptoms in patients who can be categorized into specific subgroups. The RCT that was reviewed found that oral antipsychotics were slightly more effective than LAIs at reducing patient symptoms over 10 weeks, but not statistically significant enough to claim superiority of one over the other.
Conclusion: While quantitative data does not find a definitive superior formulation for the treatment of schizophrenia, research does consistently show that LAIs show more favorable outcomes in certain clinical scenarios and when aiming to achieve certain goals of treatment in patients with schizophrenia. As more research is performed to examine these subgroups, more data will be found to further solidify the benefits of LAIs, potentially making them the clear superior formulary for treating schizophrenia.
Recommended Citation
Fear JK. Injection or ingestion: A Comparative Review of Antipsychotic Delivery Methods and Patient Outcomes in Schizophrenia. The PA Department Journal of Medical Science. 2026. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/pa-department-journal-of-medical-science/58
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License