Alcohol dependence and hospitalization in schizophrenia

Treatment of schizophrenia is often complicated by substance abuse. We repo rt here findings of a retrospective study evaluating readmission rates of p atients meeting DSM IV criteria comorbid for schizophrenia and alcohol or d rug dependence treated with depot haloperidol or fluphenazine over a 2-year period. During the study period, 14 of the 26 (54%) male veteran patients were admitted to the VAMC, Charleston; 46% of patients met criteria for alc ohol, marijuana or cocaine dependence. Patients with alcohol dependence app eared to be at highest risk for hospital admission (p < 0.05). Moreover, pa tients with alcohol dependence had longer hospital stays (p < 0.05) than pa tients without alcohol dependence. Marijuana or cocaine dependence was slig htly, but not statistically more common among admitted patients. Marijuana or cocaine dependence did not predict length of stay or number of admission s. Alcohol dependence may be an important factor in schizophrenic exacerbat ion, and may be an important target for treatment. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights reserved.