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Polypharmacy in clozapine‐treated patients
Author(s) -
Lam Y. W. Francis
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the brown university psychopharmacology update
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7532
pISSN - 1068-5308
DOI - 10.1002/pu.30715
Subject(s) - clozapine , medicine , polypharmacy , dyslipidemia , hypersalivation , side effect (computer science) , antipsychotic , neutropenia , atypical antipsychotic , tachycardia , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , diabetes mellitus , antipsychotic drug , drug , intensive care medicine , anesthesia , pharmacology , psychiatry , chemotherapy , endocrinology , computer science , programming language
Clozapine has been the primary atypical antipsychotic agent used for managing patients with treatment‐resistant schizophrenia. Despite clozapine's efficacy, its usefulness is limited by the occurrence of significant side effects, including neutropenia and agranulocytosis in 1% to 2% of treated patients. Other side effects are also often reported with long‐term use, including metabolic effects such as weight gain, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia; cardiopulmonary effects such as tachycardia and pneumonia; and patient complaints of hypersalivation. The occurrence of one or more of these side effects might necessitate the initiation of concurrent medications for pharmacological management, and the potential of drug‐drug interaction.