Previous treatment and treatment following discontinuation

Therapy used before the index treatment was analysed based on transactions retrieved during the three months before initiation of the index drug. Patients were classified per type of previous treatment by order of priority: patients having purchased long-acting injectable antipsychotics were classified in the first group; among remaining patients, patients who purchased other antipsychotics were classified in the second group; finally, patients with no transaction of antipsychotics were classified in the third group.

The potential treatment started after discontinuation of the index drug was collected during the three months following discontinuation. This analysis was only carried out on patients that were receiving the index drug for less than ten months. Based on the transactions retrieved during the three months after discontinuation, patients that purchased the index drug were classified as restart. Other patients were classified in different groups of treatment using the same definitions as when analysing the treatment before initiation.