Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Feb;1(1):25-9.
doi: 10.1177/2045125311398284.

Physical complications in early clozapine treatment: a case report and implications for safe monitoring

Sachin S Patel  1 , Matthew P G Allin
Affiliations

Physical complications in early clozapine treatment: a case report and implications for safe monitoring

Sachin S Patel et al. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Treatment with the antipsychotic clozapine is often complicated by its wide-ranging and sometimes serious adverse effect profile. A link between clozapine therapy and diabetes is well established, although the onset and severity of glucose metabolism abnormalities is variable. Recent literature also suggests there may be an association between clozapine therapy and pneumonia. We review the relevant background literature and present a case of a patient with pre-existing type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who presented with a diabetic emergency after a relatively short period of treatment with clozapine. He went on to develop pneumonia from which he died. We discuss the implications this case, and others alike, have for early routine physical health monitoring of this patient group.

Keywords: clozapine; diabetes; monitoring; pneumonia; schizoaffective disorder; schizophrenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this submission.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Graphical illustration of average daily CBG readings prior to and after commencing clozapine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Diabetes Association (2004) Consensus Development Conference on Antipsychotic Drugs and Obesity and Diabetes (consensus statement). Diabetes Care 27: 596–601 - PubMed
    1. Berk M., Fitzsimons J., Lambert T., Pantelis C., Kulkarni J., Castle D., et al. (2007) Monitoring the safe use of clozapine. A consensus view from Victoria, Australia. CNS Drugs 21: 117–127 - PubMed
    1. Hasnain M., Fredrickson S.K., Vieweg W.V., Pandurangi A.K. (2010) Metabolic syndrome associated with schizophrenia and atypical antipsychotics. Curr Diab Rep 10: 209–216 - PubMed
    1. Henderson D.C., Nguyen D.D., Copeland P.M., Hayden D.L., Borba C.P., Louie P.M., et al. (2005) Clozapine, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia and cardiovascular risks and mortality: Results of a 10 year naturalistic study. J Clin Psychiatry 66: 1116–1121 - PubMed
    1. Hinkes R., Quesada T.V., Currier M.B., Gonzalez-Blanco M. (1996) Aspiration pneumonia possibly secondary to clozapine-induced sialorrhea. J Clin Pharmacol 16: 462–463 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources