Prospective observational study of clozapine in the treatment of schizophrenia.
| CONTEXT: 189 patients were included in this 5-year prospective observational study which looked at the safety and tolerability profile when used in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). The paper published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment concludes that the unique role that clozapine plays in treating TRS warrants broader clinical awareness. Despite the notoriety of its acute and chronic side effects, its safety management is possible with a structured monitoring programme and should broaden its potential practical application in a challenging patient population. READ TIME: 20 mins  1. “The psychosis severity rating scale (BPRS): 33 ” 2. “The study protocol and procedures complied with ethical principles set out in the revised version of the Helsinki Declaration. ” 3. “32 Measures All participants had monthly clinical follow-up visits and were evaluated by means of the following tests, administrated by expert clinicians every six months during follow-up visits: Clinical Assessment ” 4. “a rater-administered 18-item scale ranging from 1 (“absent”) to 7 (“very severe”) for each question, with a total score from 18 to 126. ” 5. “Items include questions on attention (“Can you count backward from 20 by 3’s?”), ” Source URL: https://www.dovepress.com/clozapine-management-in-schizophrenia-inpatients-a-5-year-prospective–peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NDT |