Depot antipsychotic prophylaxis in bipolar affective disorder

Objective: Depot antipsychotic medication is often prescribed as maintenanc e treatment for patients with bipolar affective disorder. In this study we examined the case notes of 14 patients with bipolar disorder who had been p rescribed depot antipsychotics. Our aim was to establish the effectiveness of depot medication in this group. Method: We calculated the total number of hospital admissions, length of ho spital stay, and total number of affective episodes for each patient from t he onset of their illness to the time of the study. The frequency of affect ive episodes and hospital admission were compared during periods on or off depot medication. Results: Treatment with depot antipsychotics was associated with a signific ant decrease in the number of hospital admissions, overall affective episod es and manic episodes in particular. Conclusions: Prophylactic treatment with depot antipsychotics may be useful for certain patients with bipolar disorder, in particular those patients w ho experience frequent manic episodes. Further proof of the efficacy of dep ot antipsychotics in the prophylaxis of bipolar affective disorder requires the completion of a double-blind prospective trial.