frequently asked questions
What Do Statistics Mean in Terms of Medications and Side Effects?
Statistics are available for virtually every facet of Schizophrenia treatment, including medication side effects. The PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) lists the most commonly reported side effects and those that are rarely reported. These figures simply reflect physical symptoms that were reported while the patient was taking the drug. They may have nothing to do with whether or not the reported phenomenon was related (in a cause and effect way) to the drug in question.
Statistics may be helpful in some applications. For example, they may help your doctor make an initial selection of a specific drug; beyond this they are usually not very useful.
Statistics represent a wonderful source of data for researchers and epidemiologists. In these applications they are certainly not worthless numbers. However, when it comes to treating individual patients, statistic relating to either the efficacy of a particular drug or the incidence of specific side effects are generally not very helpful. Those numbers simply don’t help our patients.
We may select drug “A” because, statistically, it is less likely than either drug “B” or drug “C” to produce akathisia or weight gain. A hypothetical patient, John, is already overweight and is exquisitely sensitive to akathisia. Therefore, we may use this information as a guide in determining which drugs to use on a trial basis, but statistics are not reliable indicators for anything relative to the use of these drugs in individual patients.
When John takes drug “A” he will either experience weight gain, akathisia, or both; or he will encounter neither side effect. If he experiences one of the side effects, his chances of having that side effect become 100%. If he does not, his chance becomes 0%. The statistics are simply a guide. There is no assurance that John will conform to them in any way.
These limitations not only apply to side effects, but extend to efficacy of medications as well. We may employ certain medications on a trial basis because statistics suggest that they may produce the desired results, a lessening of symptoms. They may perform very well, or they may not.
The reason for this is that John is not a statistic. He is a person, a client, or a patient. In terms of John’s personal experience with medications, anything can happen. Statistics are simply not helpful.
(Sources: The author’s knowledge base, unless otherwise noted.)
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