Patterns of recovery course in early intervention for FIRST episode non-affective psychosis patients: The role of timing.

BACKGROUND: Prevention of symptom relapse and promotion of functional recovery are the two main goals of early intervention following a first episode of non-affective psychosis (FEP). The identification of patterns of recovery is important in developing and implementing recovery focused interventions at set time interval.

METHOD: Patterns of recovery course, in terms of symptomatic and functional remission, were explored at 1 and 3-year follow-up in a sample of 373 consecutive FEP patients. Relapses during this period were considered.

RESULTS: Four patterns of recovery course were defined: good stable (26%), good unstable (21%), poor unstable (10%), poor stable (43%). Those who met criteria for good stable recovery were more likely have less severe baseline negative symptoms (OR = 2.092; 95% CI = 0.99-4.419) and to not be diagnosed with schizophrenia (OR = 2.242; 95% CI = 1.015-4.954). Short DUP (OR = 2.152; 95% CI = 0.879-5.27) and low premorbid IQ (OR = 2.281; 95% CI = 0.954-5.457) increased the likelihood of good unstable recovery. Less severe baseline negative symptoms (OR = 3.851; 95% CI = 1.422-10.435) and single status (OR = 4.307; 95% CI = 1.014-18.293) increased the likelihood of a poor unstable recovery. Poor unstable pattern was significantly associated with a high relapse rate (73%).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results shed light on identifying different recovery patterns in FEP. Despite evidence for early intervention effectiveness, we should explore ways to prevent relapse and improve long-term recovery, particularly in reference to the role of timing in the design of interventions.