Real-world effectiveness of antipsychotic monotherapy vs. polypharmacy in schizophrenia: To switch or to combine? A nationwide study in Hungary

Our study provides evidence for the superiority of monotherapy over polypharmacy for SGAs in terms of all-cause treatment discontinuation in schizophrenia. Polypharmacy, however, was associated with a lower likelihood of mortality and hospitalizations. The finding that MA is superior to PA for long-term sustained treatment whereas polypharmacy has advantage in mortality and psychiatric hospitalizations suggests that combination treatments may be more efficacious during exacerbation of psychotic symptoms.