The Safety of 12-Weekly Monitoring of Neutrophil Count in Long-Term Clozapine Patients.

ABSTRACT: Clozapine is the only truly effective treatment for refractory schizophrenia, but its use is constrained by the requirements for frequent monitoring of neutrophil counts. In the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, the frequency of clozapine blood monitoring was reduced in some units from 4-weekly to 12-weekly. We aimed to investigate the outcomes of reduced monitoring in long-term clozapine patients. This was an anonymous, retrospective, observational cohort study. No restrictions were applied regarding care setting (i.e., outpatients or inpatients). All patients who registered for reduced frequency haematological monitoring from 1 March 2020 to 1 November 2022 were included and followed up till 1 August 2024. The primary outcome was death resulting from clozapine-induced agranulocytosis (CIA

SUBMITTER: Taylor D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12318641 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature