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Biomedical subjects

G Ripper

Publications and source records attributed to G Ripper.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Impact of clozapine prescription on inpatient resource utilization.

Although clozapine has been demonstrated to be clinically superior to typical neuroleptics in refractory schizophrenia, it is also more expensive. It had been hoped that the increased costs associated with its use would be offset by decreases in the utilization of other expensive resources, especially inpatient care. All patients who had clozapine initiated during an inpatient hospitalization within the VA for schizophrenia over a 4-year period (N = 1415) were matched with a comparison group (N = 2,830) on key service utilization variables and other possible confounding demographic and clinical variables using propensity scoring-an accepted statistical method, although still relatively little used in psychiatry. By using centralized VA databases, subsequent inpatient resource utilization for the 3 years after index discharge was examined. Veterans exposed to clozapine while inpatients recorded 33 (36%) more inpatient days in the subsequent 3 years after discharge than the comparison group (124 +/- 190 days vs. 91 +/- 181 days, p = .0002). When all patients exposed to clozapine were divided according to whether they had received 1 year of clozapine treatment after discharge, those that received less than 1 year's treatment recorded significantly more inpatient days than either those maintained on clozapine or controls. These results suggest that in actual practice clozapine treatment may cost substantially more than treatment with conventional neuroleptics.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

An assessment of clinical practice of clozapine therapy for veterans.

Clozapine therapy for 2,996 patients with treatment-refractory schizophrenia was examined over a five-year period in the Veterans Affairs health care system. Patients were assessed with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). BPRS scores, which were available for 522 patients, indicated a significant improvement, as did AIMS scores, which were available for 252 patients. Compared with individuals who showed a modest improvement, those with a more robust response to clozapine had higher initial BPRS scores and were three times more likely to have been suicidal in the month before starting clozapine therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Clozapine therapy for older veterans.

OBJECTIVE: The effectiveness of clozapine treatment in a treatment-refractory sample of older adult veterans with primary psychosis was examined. METHODS: Data were collected over a five-year period for patients age 55 and older who were given clozapine because of a history of treatment-refractory or treatment-intolerant psychosis. At initiation of clozapine therapy, baseline demographic, clinical, and psychopathology data were collected. At baseline and quarterly, patients' psychopathology was rated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and involuntary movements were rated with the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). RESULTS: The 329 patients age 55 or older who received clozapine during the study period represented 10 percent of all patients on clozapine therapy in the VA system. Of the 312 patients for whom demographic information was available, 294 were men and 18 were women. Overall, patients improved on clozapine therapy, although wide variation in drug response was observed. Complete BPRS and AIMS data were available for 97 patients. The 55- to 64-year-old group had a mean improvement in total BPRS score of 19.8 percent, with 42.6 percent showing more than a 20 percent improvement; those age 65 and older had a mean improvement of 5.7 percent, with 17.2 percent showing an improvement greater than 20 percent. The 97 patients with complete AIMS data showed a mean improvement of 16.6 percent in total score. CONCLUSIONS: Clozapine is an important therapeutic agent for older adults with treatment-refractory psychosis. Patients between the ages of 55 and 64 may have a better response than those age 65 and older.

Adult↗