Outcome of patients after market withdrawal of thioridazine: a retrospective analysis in a nationwide cohort.

Thioridazine is a first-generation antipsychotic drug that was withdrawn from the market worldwide in 2005. The outcome of clinically stable schizophrenia patients who used thioridazine before market withdrawal was evaluated. Nationwide registers in Finland were utilized to study thioridazine use, hospitalization rate and length of hospital stay. Although thioridazine use continued to diminish year after year, the hospitalization rate remained constant until the withdrawal year of 2005, when the percentage of patients hospitalized for schizophrenia doubled. The market withdrawal of thioridazine predisposed many stable patients towards psychotic relapses. In order to minimize this kind of risk, an overall risk-benefit assessment and a clear-cut plan for the replacement of an antipsychotic should be established before market withdrawal.