Clozapine as a Long-Term Therapeutic Choice: Longitudinal Analysis of Schizophrenia Symptoms in a Naturalistic Setting.

ABSTRACT:

Background and hypothesis

Clozapine remains the gold standard for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), yet the time course of clinical response in naturalistic settings is not well characterized. We hypothesized that patients initiated on clozapine in an outpatient clinic would demonstrate measurable symptom reduction over time, including delayed response in a subset of patients.

Study design

We conducted a retrospective study of TRS patients (N = 26) newly initiated on clozapine at an outpatient clozapine clinic. Symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and follow-up visits. Linear spline regression modeled PANSS trajectories over time. Response was defined as achieving either a ≥ 20% reduction in PANSS total score

SUBMITTER: Scheinberg RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12147019 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature