A 21 year old student is taking 3 mg risperidone for schizophrenia since 2 months. It was the first episode and the patient is asymptomatic now. There is no family history of any psychiatric disease. How long risperidone should be continued in this patient?
High-Yield Explanation
American Psychiatry Association recommendations for duration of antipsychotic treatment: *For first episode, medication discontinuation can be done (after at least 1 year of symptom remission or optimal response while taking medication) with close follow-up and with a plan to reinstitute antipsychotic treatment on symptom recurrence. *Indefinite maintenance antipsychotic medication is recommended for patients who have had multiple prior episodes or two episodes within 5 years. REF: Clinical pratice giudelines by APA