High-dose antipsychotic drug use as a predictor for readmission of inpatients with borderline personality disorder: A retrospective chart review in a Japanese psychiatric hospital.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine predictors associated with readmission of inpatients with borderline personality disorder. METHODS This observational study evaluated 83 inpatients with borderline personality disorder admitted to the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry Hospital in Japan from January 2013 to January 2016. Data were retrospectively obtained from electronic medical records. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the daily antipsychotic dose equivalent to chlorpromazine at admission between the readmitted and nonreadmitted groups, which indicated that there was no between-group difference in the psychiatric disease severity at admission. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the use of antipsychotics equivalent to >400 mg of chlorpromazine at discharge was associated with readmission within 1 year. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, high-dose antipsychotic drug use at discharge may be a risk factor for readmission. The present findings may have important clinical implications since they alert physicians to a possible predictor for readmissions of patients with borderline personality disorder.