Measuring Outcomes in Schizophrenia and Examining Their Clinical Application

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The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders

Outcomes in schizophrenia include response, remission, and recovery. Response criteria are often based on reductions in rating scale scores, but these results are not always presented in clinically relevant terms. However, when rating scale scores are linked to Clinical Global Impression (CGI) ratings, clinicians can better understand patients’ overall severity and improvement during treatment. Further, remission in schizophrenia has been defined as having core symptoms no worse than mild on standard rating scales for 6 months. When these time and severity criteria are applied to schizophrenia studies, the results become more comparable and clinically useful than among study results with divergent criteria. While no consensus definition exists for recovery, it remains the ultimate goal of schizophrenia treatment by encompassing sustained symptom resolution, returning to full functioning, and achieving a threshold of quality of life.