# 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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2022; 11:CD014384.
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159:554–560.
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19. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Psychosis and schizophrenia in adults: prevention and management. Clinical guideline 
[CG178]. 2014 (last checked February 2024); https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg178.
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