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76 - References

References

84 The Maudsley® Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry CHAPTER 1 ■ ■Discontinuation of medication should not be seen as the ultimate aim of the above process although it sometimes results. ■ ■Because of their longer half-­lives, relapse following discontinuation of LAI antipsychotic formulations may be delayed compared with their oral equivalents and shorter-­ acting LAIs, probably because of longer exposure and prolonged dopamine receptor blockade following discontinuation.18 ■ ■While an intermittent, targeted (i.e. symptom-­triggered) treatment approach with antipsychotic medication is not as effective as continuous treatment, it may be preferable to no treatment.2,19,20 ■ ■If a patient becomes symptomatic following antipsychotic dose reduction, this should be seen as information relevant to the determination of the minimum effective dose for that patient. ■ ■Complex hyperbolic tapering regimens have been proposed21 and these may offer protection against relapse. For more discussion, see the section on antipsychotic prophylaxis in this chapter. References

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