e-STAR is an international, multicenter, prospective, observational registry assessing use of antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in a normal clinical practice setting. 85% of patients (n = 1410) remained on RLAI (completers) for 24 months while 15% discontinued therapy. The main reasons for discontinuation were insufficient response (28.5%), patient/family choice (26.1%), adverse events (9.6%) and unacceptable tolerability (6.0%).
These observational data confirm that RLAI is an effective treatment in schizophrenia and high levels of adherence to therapy offers an opportunity for effective long-term disease management and significant sustained decreases in hospitalization.