Treatment-Resistance and Suicidality in Schizophrenia: 2 Major Management Challenges
Henry A. Nasrallah, MD, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Patients can seem treatment-resistant because of inadequate antipsychotic dosing, smoking, substance-induced relapse, nonadherence, or a general medical condition. Dr. Nasrallah discussed how to recognize true treatment-resistant schizophrenia and rule of spurious treatment resistance. If your patient is truly treatment-resistant, what do you do when everything else fails?
Risk factors for suicide include male sex, depressed mood, substance use, and social isolation. Clozapine, the only drug FDA-approved for refractory schizophrenia and suicidality, is underutilized for such patients. Dr. Nasrallah also presented evidence for the use of adjunctive modalities, such as lamotrigine, steroids, omega-3 fatty acids, NSAIDs, antidepressants, glutamatergic agents, and rTMS, as well as psychotherapy.