Schizophrenia is a chronic, recurrent and disabling illness and prevention of relapse is the key to treatment. Long-acting injectable (LAI) is an important treatment strategy to prevent relapse. However, due to the formulation properties of long-acting, the design of randomized control trial (RCT) appears difficulty and the duration of follow-up is longer, which cause the lack of content about LAI in textbooks and treatment guidelines and the shortage of specific suggestions for the practically clinical application of LAI. Therefore, with the organization of the Chinese Schizophrenia Coordination Group (CSCG), 15 psychiatrists formed the expert group, who systematically reviewed the literatures about the efficacy and safety data of LAI. This article summarizes and analyses the efficacy and safety of LAIs in the treatment of schizophrenia, aiming to provide key data for psychiatrists when they choose the pharmacotherapy strategy.

Schizophrenia; Antipsychotic agents; Long-acting injectable; Efficacy; Safety