Harm Gijsman1, Marguerite Elfrink1, Bettina Jacobsen1, Stefan Geelen2, Thomas Oud2; 1Pro Persona Mental Health, 2Radboud University Medical School
Early intervention psychosis teams differ in their inclusion age range, caseload, focus on recovery, and duration of treatment. We present 10 year follow-up of an EIP team which included patients from 16 to 60 years, is ACT certified (caseload 1:15), specifically trained in recovery, and applied a flexible duration of treatment. Method: We included the first 67 patients of the team. We monitored at time of discharge: duration of treatment, diagnosis, reason for end of treatment, type of follow-up treatment; and at 10 years follow-up: type of current treatment and level of functional remission. Results: 7 patients (10.4%) dropped out during treatment, mainly in the first 2 years. Duration of treatment was on average 4.1 years (SD 2.44) and ranged from 0 to 10 years. Diagnosis at discharge was for 65 patients (97%) a psychotic disorder. At discharge 32 patients (47.8%) required further specialist mental healthcare, of which 4 patients were hospitalized. At 10 years follow-up 24 patients (35.8%) still required specialized mental healthcare, of which one patient was hospitalized. We obtained information on functional status of 34 patients, of which 10 (29.4%) were in remission. As far as we could retrieve, no patients had died at 10 years. Younger age at start treatment was related with poorer outcome measures in treatment at discharge and 10 year follow up. Discussion: Limited evidence gives an indication for better outcome than a less intensive and flexible approach. Especially patients under 21 may need additional interventions.
