Design and validation of standardized clinical and functional remission criteria in schizophrenia.

Background: International Remission Criteria (IRC) for schizophrenia were developed recently by a group of internationally known experts. The IRC detect only 10%-30% of cases and do not cover the diversity of forms and social functioning. Our aim was to design a more applicable tool and validate its use - the Standardized Clinical and Functional Remission Criteria (SCFRC).

Remission in schizophrenia: results of cross-sectional with 6-month follow-up period and 1-year observational therapeutic studies in an outpatient population.

Background: A standardized definition of remission criteria in schizophrenia was proposed by the International group of NC Andreasen in 2005 (low symptom threshold for the eight core Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) symptoms for at least 6 consecutive months).

Methods: A cross-sectional study of remission rate, using a 6-month follow-up to assess symptomatic stability, was conducted in two healthcare districts (first and second) of an outpatient psychiatric service in Moscow. The key inclusion criteria were outpatients with an International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.