OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the hospitalization costs of acute inpatients with schizophrenia treated with the long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic aripiprazole based on observed data from a naturalistic study in two Madrid hospitals. The aim was to assess the management costs of patients and observe any procedural differences affecting these costs.

METHODS: Hospitalization costs of 51 inpatients (30 men, 21 women) with schizophrenia, treated with aripiprazole LAI in an acute setting, during the observation period, were calculated.

RESULTS: The average duration of hospital stay (HS) for patients treated with LAI aripiprazole according to SmPC in this setting was 21 days. This study showed that the HS was shorter when aripiprazole LAI was administered earlier: Group 1, administered aripiprazole LAI during the first week of admission, resulting in a mean HS of 16.3 days; versus Group 2, administered aripiprazole LAI > CONCLUSIONS: In the observation sample, it was shown that aripiprazole LAI is an effective treatment for acute inpatients with schizophrenia and a short average HS is observed with the use of this drug. The early use of aripiprazole LAI, during the first week of admission, reduced HS. The shortening of the HS has benefits for patients, improving their quality of life, but also has notable advantages in the reduction of direct costs for the Health System.